^.piWJW'iPMi?" 


GIFT  OF 
JEROME  B.  LANPFIELD 


•  ••  •      •• 

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•      •       • 


SWi 


3,Ji\'s©< 


i1Aj3  'vi:^/  [iLJ  Vi^  d_h  VJi^   UdJ  ll.^rU  cLilN:^  'v^i^  O 

/A///  /-7  /■'t'/a^fo'  '^^.  /Zy6.  Died  tJie  fd^Ododer  /S/7  near  Solothum  in  Switzerland. .    He  and  Ct". 
Lafas't-tte  ipirr  the  only  two  ^uwpeans  wlJO  wore  the  Cross  of  tTie.  Order  of  Cincinnatus- 

Dfducued  to  t?is  .ylnierican  peopJe. 


'interfd  according  to ^ct  cf  Congress  by  FauUnMied^ielsky,  Jir-YorK,  /^iJ 


HISTORY 


/■Ji-/sm». 


ndiiB^a  ip®ansiii  lEii'^oai'iSFS'ncsss'^ 


AND     THE 


EVENTS  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN. 


BY  JOSEPH   HORDYNSKI, 

MAJOR       OF       THE      LATE       TENTH      RE£*ff«ENT       OF      LITHUANIAN      LANCERS. 


iTourti)    3ETiftfon. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED    FOR    SUBSCRIBERS 

1833. 


r<>s. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1833, 

By  Joseph  Hokdynski, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


.,,^^V^/,^^^>I*a*^  ^^  O^W*ei^ 


THE   GREAT  AND  FREE  NATION 


UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA. 


Liberated  from  prison,  and  from  the  prospect  of  a  more 
gloomy  future,  by  some  of  your  fellow  citizens,  I  have  been 
so  fortunate  as  to  reach  these  happy  shores.  Providence 
has  granted  me  to  behold  that  fair  country,  and  that  nation, 
which  every  lover  of  freedom  desires  to  see  with  his  own 
eyes,  and  every  freeman  of  Poland  is  wont  to  think  of  with 
love  and  esteem.  Your  land,  long  since  the  asylum  of  the 
persecuted,  has  welcomed  me  with  hearty  benevolence. 
From  the  first  moment  of  my  arrival  to  the  present  time, 
I  have  received  daily  proofs  of  your  sympathy.  Full  of 
gratitude,  and  in  the  hope  of  doing  you  an  acceptable 
service,  I  cannot  better  employ  the  moments  allowed  me 
during  my  stay  among  you,  than  by  giving  you  a  faithful 
account  of  our  revolution,  and  of  its  true  causes  and  mo- 
tives, as  well  as  of  the  events  of  the  war  by  which  it  was  fol- 
lowed. By  a  brief  statement  of  the  circumstances  which 
brought  about  that  revolution,  I  wish  to  inform  you  of  the 
injustice  and  outrages,  which  my  nation  was  compelled  to 
endure,  during  fourteen  years,  in  which  both  its  natural 
rights,  and  the  constitution  solemnly  guarantied  to  it,  were 
trampled  under  foot.  By  a  true  account  of  the  events  of 
the  ensuing  war,  you  will  be  enabled  to  convince  yourselves 
of  the  means  by  which  small  forces  became  victorious  over 
a  colossal  power,  as  well  as  of  the  causes  of  the  final  ca- 
tastrophe to  which  Poland  has  been  doomed. 


M5265441 


IV  DEDICATION. 

I  am  convinced  that  in  many  respects  my  narrative  will 
be  entirely  opposed  to  the  representations  given  in  the  public 
papers ;  for  our  land,  like  most  countries  struggling  for 
liberty,  was  surrounded  by  enemies  rather  than  friends. 
The  sources  from  which  these  accounts  have  been  drawn, 
are,  first,  my  own  recollections  of  events  of  which  I  was  an 
eye-witness  ;  secondly,  the  reports  of  my  friends  and  com- 
rades who  were  present ;  and  lastly,  (particularly  as  to  the 
operations  of  the  detached  corps)  the  official  reports  of  the 
army,  which  have  not  yet  escaped  my  memory.  The  same 
course  I  have  followed  in  the  design  of  the  plans,  which 
have  been  traced  partly  from  my  own  recollections  of  posi- 
tions and  scenes  at  which  I  was  present,  partly  from  the 
accurate  reports  of  friends,  and  partly  from  public  reports, 
assisted  by  my  personal  knowledge  of  localities. 

Americans  !  I  am  neither  an  author  nor  a  scholar  by 
profession,  but  a  simple  republican  and  soldier.  In  such  a 
one  you  will  forgive  faults  in  the  form  and  style  of  writing. 
Do  not  then  judge  me  as  a  writer,  but  see  in  me  an  unhappy 
Pole,  who  presents  to  your  sympathies  the  picture  of  the 
fatal  disasters  of  his  unfortunate  country,  and  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  strove  to  regain  its  liberty,  that  first  and 
greatest  of  national  blessings.  In  this  hope  of  your  indul- 
gence, I  beg  you  to  accept  this  work  as  a  token  of  my  grat- 
itude and  as  a  memorial  of  my  short  stay  among  you,  as 
well  as  an  expression  of  the  great  esteem,  with  which  I  shall 
always  remain, 

Americans,  your  devoted  servant, 

JOSEPH  HORDYNSKl. 

To  the  gentlemen  who  have  aided  me,  by  the  translation, 
the  execution  of  the  plates,  and  the  publication  of  the  work, 
I  offer  the  only  recompense  which  they  will  permit  me  to 
make  —  my  heartfelt  thanks ;  and  I  assure  them  that  in 
the  feelings  which  prompt  this  acknowledgment,  all  my 
comrades  will  participate. 

J.  H. 


Pkonunciation. —  To  the  Reader.  There  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  accurate  rules  for 
the  pronunciation  of  Polish  words  arising  from  the  circumstance  that  some  letters  hav« 
varieties  of  sound  which  are  indicated  by  signs  in  the  Polish  alphabet,  and  which  cannot 
be  represented  in  the  English.  Thus,  the  letter  Z  has,  in  addition  to  that  of  the  English 
Z  the  sounds  oijet  and  zet ;  the  first  indicated  by  a  short  line  and  the  second  by  a  dot  placed 
over  the  letter.  It  has  therefore  been  thought  more  for  the  convenience  of  readers,  Avho 
may  wish  to  know  the  English  pronunciation  of  the  names  which  occur  in  this  work,  to 
subjoin  an  alphabetical  list  of  them  and  their  pronunciation,  than  to  give  rules  which  must 
necessarily  be  imperfect.    This  list  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  Volume. 


the  uadaunted  Chief  of  the  Poles  darin<^  the  Confederacy  ofBarfivm  /^68  ^  /77J^.  J9orn    in 
/7^6  Sc  killed  beforv  Savannah,  in^  /77S  while  fighting  fortheliberfy  ScJndependence  of  these  ITS. 

J)edicated  U!  thi.  ^Amenean  people. 


Entered  axerdingi  to  ^ict  ol Congress  byFauZin  ^y)fiedzielsty,  .7f.-ycrlt,  /g33. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I. 

Geographical  extent,  population,  and  political  importance  of  Poland, 
as  anciently  constituted. — Conduct  of  Napoleon  in  1812. —  Con- 
gress of  Vienna. — Grand-duchy  of  Warsaw  erected  into  a  king- 
dom.— Dispositions  of  Alexander. — Zajaczek  appointed  Viceroy, 
and  Constantine  commander  of  the  army. — Constantine  en- 
croaches upon  the  civil  administration. — Acts  of  tyranny. — Meet- 
ing of  the  Diet. — Public  debates  suppressed. — The  Polish  Conspi- 
racy of  1821. — The  Russian  Conspiracy  of  1824. — Union  of  the 
Patriotic  Associations. — Death  of  Alexander. — The  Revolt  at  St 
Petersburgh. — Punishment  of  the  Patriots. — Coronation  of  Nich- 
olas.— Constantine  appointed  Viceroy  of  Poland. — Oppressions 
of  the  Government. — Patriotic  Club. — Influence  of  the  French 
and  Belgic  Revolutions. — The  Quartering-tax. — Excitement  in 
Warsaw. — Arrest  of  the  students  at  Praga. — Day  of  the  Revolu- 
tion fixed  upon.  Page  5 

CHAPTER    II. 

Principles  of  the  Revolution. — The  First  Night. — Attack  on  the 
Barracks  of  the  Russian  Cavalry. — Their  Dispersion. — Attempt 
to  secure  the  person  of  the  Grand  Duke. — Capture  of  Russian 
general  officers  and  spies. — Actions  with  detached  bodies  of  Rus- 
sian cavalry. — Two  companies  of  Polish  light-infantry  join  the 
patriots. — Death  of  Potocki  and  Trembicki. — The  Russian  in- 
fantry attacked  and  dispersed. — Armament  and  assembling  of 
the  people. — Detachments  sent  to  Praga.  30 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  First  Day. — Expulsion  of  the  Russians  from  Warsaw. — Choice 
of  Chlopicki  as  Commander  in  Chief. — Provisional  Government, 
under  the  Presidency  of  prince  Adam  Czartoryski. — Deputation 
sent  to  the  Grand  Duke. — Propositions  and  answer. — Abolition 
of  the  Bureau  of  Police. — Establishment  of  the  National  Guard. 
— Proclamations  addressed  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces 
and  the  distant  troops. — Provision  for  the  Russian  prisoners. — The 
Academical  Legions  formed. — Arrival  of  detachments  from  the 
provinces. — The  Grand  Duke  consents  to  leave  the  kingdom,  and 
addresses  a  proclamation  to  the  Poles.  4T 

B 


Vm  CONTENTS, 


enemy  is  surprised  at  Nasielsk. — Transports  of  provisions  for  the 
enemy  from  Prussia  taken. — Successful  skirmishes. — Marshal 
Diebitsch  demands  the  capitulation  of  the  fortress  of  Modlin. 
Reply  of  colonel  Leduchowski. — A  detachment  from  the  garri- 
son of  Modlin  attacks  and  defeats  a  Russian  force  at  Serock. — 
General  Skrzynecki  makes  an  offer  of  pacification  on  the  basis  of 
the  concessions  originally  demanded  by  the  Poles. — This  propo- 
sition is  rejected  and  hostilities  are  recommenced  — Reconnois- 
sance  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula  under  Jankowski  and 
Gielgud. — A  Russian  corps 'under  general  Witt  is  sent  against 
Dwernicki. — General  Uminski  is  sent  against  the  Russian  guard. 
— First  encounter. — The  Russian  guard  is  compelled  to  leave 
their  position  for  Ostrolenka.-- -The  guard  evacuates  Ostrolenka  to 
join  the  grand  army.  Page  195 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Plan  of  general  Skrzynecki  to  act  upon  the  isolated  corps  of  Rosen 
and  Gaismer. — Battle  of  Wawr. — Various  detachments  of  the  ene- 
my are  taken  after  that  battle,  and  a  great  number  of  prisoners. 
— Battle  of  Dembe-Wielkie. — Destructive  pursuit  of  the  enemy 
by  our  cavalry. — View  of  the  Russian  losses  in  the  preceding  days. 
— Marshal  Diebitsch  abandons  his  plan  of  crossing  the  Vistula, 
and  marches  to  the  rescue  of  the  remains  of  the  corps  of  Rosen 
and  Gaismer,  and  the  Imperial  Guard. — View  of  the  position  of 
the  two  armies,  after  the  second  repulse  of  the  enemy  from 
before  Warsaw. — Operations  of  general  Dwernicki. — Successes 
of  a  reconnoissance  under  colonel  Russyian  at  Uscilog. — Effect 
of  Dwernicki's  victories  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces.  — 
Acknowledgment  of  general  Dwernicki's  services  by  the  Na- 
tional Government. — The  instructions  for  his  future  operations.       213 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

The  insurrection  in  Lithuania. — Dispositions  of  the  Lithuanians  at 
the  breaking  out  of  our  revolution. — Their  offers  of  co-operation 
were  rejected  by  the  dictator. — View  of  the  condition  of  Lithu- 
ania under  the  Russian  sway. — Scheme  of  the  Russian  govern- 
ment to  destroy  all  Polish  national  feeling  in  that  province. — 
The  insurrection  is  brought  about  by  the  massacre  of  the  patriots 
at  Osmiany. — Capture  of  numerous  towns  by  the  insurgents, 
and  dispersion  of  their  garrisons. — Storm  of  Wilno,  and  deliv- 
ery of  prisoners. — Several  partizan  corps  are  formed. — Their  des- 
tination and  successes.  229 


CHAPTER     XV. 

Plan  of  operation  against  the  two  corps  of  Rosen  and  Kreutz. — Bat- 
tle of  Iganie. — Reflections  on  the  state  of  the  Polish  cause  after 
the  victory  of  Iganie. — Review  of  the  course  of  the  campaign. 
— Condition  of  the  Russian  army. — Discontents  in  Russia. — 
Representations  of  the  Senate  at  St  Petersburgh  to  the  Empe- 
ror.—Comparative  view  of  the  forces  of  the  two  armies  at  the 
present  stage  of  the  conflict.  238 


CONTENTS.  ^  IX 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Position  of  the  two  armies  after  the  battle  of  Iganie. — Plan  of  a 
simultaneous  attack  upon  the  Russian  forces  upon  opposite  sides. 

Instructions  to  the  different  corps. — Operations  on  the  enemy's 

front. — Unfortunate  operations  of  general  Sierawski,  and  the 
first  defeat. — Details  of  those  operations.— Operations  of  general 
Dwernicki. — He  defeats  Rudiger ;  but  by  a  false  operation  ex- 
poses himself  to  be  attacked  disadvantageously  by  two  Russian 
corps. — In  the  course  of  the  action  the  Austrian  frontier  is  passed 
by  the  combatants. — An  Austrian  force  interposes,  and  general 
Dwernicki  consents  to  go  into  camp. — His  arms  and  prisoners 
are  taken  from  him,  while  the  enemy  is  permitted  to  leave  the 
territory  freely. — Reflections  on  the  conduct  of  Austria. — Conse- 
quences of  the  loss  of  Dwernicki's  corps. — The  cholera  makes 
its  appearance  in  the  two  armies.  Page  254 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Russian  commander  resumes  offensive  operations. — Object  of 
the  attack  of  the  25th  of  April. — Combat  of  Kuflew. — General 
Dembinski  evacuates  the  position  of  Kuflew  and  awaits  the  ene- 
my at  Bady. — Battle  of  Minsk. — The  enemy  suddenly  evacuates 
his  position. — Reflections  on  this  stage  of  the  conflict.— Positions 
of  the  two  armies.  271 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

General  Skrzynecki  resumes  the  offensive. — He  decides  to  adopt  an 
enlarged  plan  of  operations,  and  to  make  the  revolutionized  pro- 
vinces supply  the  place  of  a  corps  d'armee. — The  corps  of  Chrza- 
nowski  is  sent  to  occupy  the  Russian  corps  of  Witt  and  Kreutz. — 
Admirable  execution  of  this  enterprise. — Attack  on  Kock. — At- 
tack of  Rudiger's  camp. — Plan  of  operations  by  the  main  army 
against  the  Russian  guard. — Forced  march  from  Kaluszyn  by 
Praga  to  Serock. — Advanced  post  of  the  guard  attacked  and  de- 
feated.— The  corps  of  Saken  is  cut  off. — The  2d  division  under 
Gielgud*  sent  into  Lithuania. — The  imperial  guard  are  driven 
with  great  loss  beyond  the  frontier. — Retrograde  movement.  283 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

The  Lithuanians  compel  two  Russian  corps  to  evacuate  Samogitia. 
— Operations  of  general  Chlapowski  in  the  department  of  Bialys- 
tok. — Capture  of  Bielsk.— Defeat  of  a  Russian  force  at  Narewka 
and  expulsion  of  the  enemy  from  the  department.— Recapitulation 
of  the  forces  which  had  been  sent  into  Lithuania. — Operations  of 
the  main  army. — Attempt  of  marshal  Diebitsch  to  intercept  Skrzy- 
necki on  his  retrograde  march,  by  a  diversion  to  Ostrolenka. — 
General  Lubinski  surprises  the  Russian  advanced  guard  at  Czy- 
zew. — Marshal  Diebitsch  attacks  the  Polish  rear-guard  at  Klecz- 
kowo. — The  rear-guard  quits  its  position  at  night,  and  joins  the 
main  army  at  Ostrolenka. — Battle  of  Ostrolenka.  298 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Operations  of  the  Lithuanian  corps. — Battle  of  Raygrod  and  defeat 
of  the  Russian  corps  of  Saken. — Importance  of  this  first  success 
in  Lithuania. — General  Gielgud  neglects  to  follow  up  his  ad- 
vantages.— He  loses  time  bypassing  the  Niemen  at  Gielgudyszki, 
and  enables  the  enemy  to  concentrate  his  forces  in  Wilno. — En- 
trance into  Lithuania  and  reception  by  the  inhabitants. — Position 
of  the  two  main  armies. — The  Russian  forces  remain  inactive  and 
receive  supplies  from  Prussia. — Death  of  marshal  Diebitsch.      P.  313 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

General  Gielgud  advances  into  Lithuania. — Allows  a  Russian  corps 
to  pass  within  a  league  of  him  unperceived. — Operations  on 
Wilno. — Enumeration  of  our  present  force. — Plan  of  a  simul- 
taneous attack  upon  Wilno  on  opposite  sides  by  the  corps  in  two 
divisions. — General  Dembinski  engages  the  enemy  with  the 
smaller  part  of  the  corps. — Being  unsupported  by  Gielgud,  is 
forced  to  retreat. — General  Gielgud  attacks  Wilno. — Battle  of 
Wilno. — A  retreat  is  commenced. — Prodigious  efforts  of  the  Pol- 
ish cavalry  in  protecting  this  retreat. — Consequences  of  the  re- 
pulse from  Wilno. — The  removal  of  general  Gielgud  is  called  for. 
— General  Chlapowski  consents  to  take  the  virtual  command  of 
the  corps,  in  the  post  of  chef  d'etat  major. — Consideration  on 
the  state  of  things  consequent  to  the  battle  of  Wilno. — Details 
of  the  admirable  plan  of  operations  proposed  by  colonel  Valentin.      328 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Operations  of  the  main  army. — Expedition  under  Jankowski. — Gen- 
eral Chrzanowski  having  driven  Rudiger  from  his  position,  crosses 
the  Vistula,  but  returns  to  act  in  concert  with  general  Jankowski 
against  the  enemy  near  Kock. — Details  of  general  Jankowski's 
movement. — He  remains  inactive  within  sight  of  the  fire  of  the 
corps  with  which  he  was  to  co-operate. — Other  evidences  of 
treason. — Generals  Jankowski  and  Bukowski  are  arrested  and 
ordered  for  trial. — View  of  the  advantages  that  were  sacrificed 
by  this  misconduct. — Discovery  of  a  plot  to  liberate  and  arm  the 
Russian  prisoners  at  Warsaw,  and  to  deliver  the  city  to  the  ene- 
my.— State  of  the  public  mind  induced  by  these  events.  342 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

General  Chlapowski  arrives  at  Keydany,  having  ordered  general 
Dembinski  to  withdraw  to  Wilkomierz.— The  position  of  the  two 
forces  and  their  line  of  operations. — Examination  of  these  arrange- 
ments.— Neglect  of  the  important  position  of  Kowno. — General 
Chlapowski,  at  Keydany,  proposes  to  form  a  provisional  govern- 
ment, and  obtain  a  levy  of  troops. — Dispositions  of  the  Lithu- 
anians, as  effected  by  the  mismanagement  of  our  leaders. — Ad- 
vantages offered  to  the  enemy  by  the  delay  at  Keydany. — Brave 


CONTENTS.  XI 


defence  of  Kowno,  by  the  small  force  left  there.— Skirmish  at 
vVilkomierz. — The  opportunity  of  concentrating  all  the  forces  at 
Keydany,  and  repassing  the  Niemen,  is  neglected. — The  enemy 
presses  his  pursuit. — Battle  of  Rosseyny. — Attack  on  Szawla. — 
Loss  of  the  ammunition  and  baggage  of  the  corps. — The  corps 
retreats  in  order  to  Kurzany,  protected  by  a  rear  guard  of  cavalry 
and  light  artillery. — At  Kurzany  the  corps  is  subdivided  into 
three  parts. — Destination  and  strength  of  each. — Examination  of 
this  plan.  Fage  350 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  three  subdivisions  of  the  Lithuanian  corps  take  their  respective 
destinations. — Details  of  the  operatiorfs  of  that  of  general  Roh- 
land. — He  meets  alone  the  attack  of  the  whole  Russian  force. — 
Battle  of  Powenduny  and  Worna. — General  Rohland,  on  his  way 
to  Polonga,  learns  that  general  Chlapowski  had  marched  towards 
the  Prussian  frontier. — He  presses  his  march  to  overtake  and  form 
a  junction  with  him. — The  greater  part  of  the  corps  of  Gielgud 
and  Chlapowski  were  found  to  have  passed  the  frontier,  when 
that  of  Rohland  came  in  sight. — Indignation  of  the  soldiery. — 
Death  of  general  Gielgud. — General  Rohland,  joined  by  a  por- 
tion of  the  corps  of  Gielgud  which  had  not  yet  passed  the  fron- 
tier, continues  his  march  to  Nowe-Miasto. — He  declines  a  propo- 
sition from  general  Kreutz,  to  surrender. — Successful  skirmish 
with  the  enemy's  cavalry. — General  Rohland  takes  a  position  at 
Nowe-Miasto,  and  awaits  the  enemy. — The  Russian  forces,  how- 
ever, do  not  continue  their  pursuit,  but  go  into  camp. — Proposi- 
tions to  pass  the  frontier  are  sent  to  general  Rohland  by  the  Prus- 
sian authorities. — They  are  submitted  to  the  corps  and  accepted,    367 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

EiFect  of  the  news  of  the  Lithuanian  disasters  on  the  minds  of  the 
people. — Distrust  of  the  National  Government — The  Russian 
army  resumes  the  offensive  under  general  Paszkiewicz. — He  de- 
cides to  pass  the  Vistula. — Examination  of  the  merits  of  this  plan. 
— Plan  of  general  Skrzynecki  to  act  on  the  different  detached 
corps  of  the  enemy. — Advantages  of  general  Chrzanowski  over 
the  corps  of  Rudiger. — The  Russian  forces  execute  the  passage 
of  the  Vistula. — General  Skrzynecki  crosses  the  Vistula  at  War- 
saw to  operate  against  the  enemy  on  the  left  bank. — An  inquiry 
into  the  conduct  of  general  Skrzynecki,  and  the  appointment  of 
a  Council  of  War  is  demanded  by  the  nation. — Arrival  of  the 
corps  of  general  Dembinski  at  Warsaw.  384 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Operation  of  general  Dembinski's  corps. — He  traverses  the  country 
between  Szawla  and  the  Niemen  without  being  observed  by  the 
enemy. — Attacks  and  disperses  a  brigade  of  Russian  infantry. — 
Passes  the  Niemen  and  throws  himself  into  the  forest  of  Bialy- 
8tok, — After  leaving  that  forest,  is  joined  by  the  corps  of  general 


Xn  CONTENTS. 


Rozycki. — Reaches  Warsaw. — His  reception  at  Warsaw. — View 
of  the  exposed  situation  of  Paszkiewicz  after  his  passage  of  the 
Vistula. — Examination  of  the  plan  of  operations  of  the  Polish 
commander. — Morbid  state  of  the  public  mind  at  Warsaw. — 
Skrzynecki  and  Czartoriski  deprived  of  their  trust. — Capture  of 
the  city. — Documents  showing  the  influence  exercised  by  the 
cabinets  in  discouraging  active  operations. — Conclusion.       Page  394 

APPENDIX.  409 


POLISH   REVOLUTION. 


CHAPTER  I 


Geographical  extent,  population,  and  political  importance  of  Poland,  as 
anciently  constituted.  —  Conduct  of  Napoleon  in  1812.  —  Congress  of 
Vienna. — Grand-duchy  of  Warsaw  erected  into  a  Kingdom. — Dis- 
positions of  Alexander. — Zajaczek  appointed  Viceroy,  and  Constantino 
Commander  of  the  Army. — Constantino  encroaches  upon  the  civil  ad- 
ministration.— Acts  of  tyranny. — Meeting  of  the  Diet. — Public  f'e- 
bates  suppressed. — The  Polish  Conspiracy  of  1821. — The  Russian 
Conspiracy  of  1824. — Union  of  the  Patriotic  Associations. — Death  of 
Alexander. — The  Revolt  at  St  Petersburgh.  —  Punishment  of  the 
Patriots. — Coronation  of  Nicholas. — Constantino  appointed  Viceroy  of 
Poland.  —  Oppressions  of  the  Government.  —  Patriotic  Club. — Influ- 
ence of  the  French  and  Belgic  Revolutions. — The  Quartering-tax. — 
Excitement  in  Warsaw. — Arrest  of  the  Students  at  Praga. — Day  of 
the  Revolution  fixed  upon. 

In  the  early  part  of  July,  1812,  when  the  victori- 
ous armies  of  Napoleon  had  occupied  Wilna,  and 
threatened  to  annihilate  the  throne  of  the  Czars, 
the  Polish  nation  cherished  the  hope  of  recovering 
its  former  grandeur.  The  destiny  of  Poland  was 
then  in  the  hands  of  Napoleon,  and  it  may  be  said 
with  truth  that  on  the  destiny  of  Poland  depended 
the  security  and  peace  of  Europe. 

Poland,  as  is  well  known  to  the  reader,  viewed 
in  regard  to  its  geographical  situation  and  extent, 
as  formerly  constituted,  forms  a  strong  outwork 
against  the  Russian  Colossus.  Its  territories  ex- 
tend to  the  eastward  as  far  as  the  Dneiper,  and 
westward  as  far  as  the  Oder.  Toward  the  north, 
they  reach  the  Baltic  and  the  government  of  SkofF, 
and  their  southern  frontiers  are  the  Carpathian 
Mountains  and  the  Black  Sea.  This  vast  region, 
1 


b  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

composed  of  the  present  Kingdom  of  Poland,  the 
Grand-duchy  of  Posen,  of  Samogitia,  Lithuania, 
Livonia,  White  Russia  and  Black  Russia,  Volhy- 
nia,  Podolia,  Ukraine,  and  Gallicia,  is  inhabited  by 
twenty-two  millions  of  Poles  of  the  same  descent, 
the  same  manners  and  customs,  and  the  same  lan- 
guage and  religion.  According  to  its  ancient  lim- 
its, the  kingdom  of  Poland  is  among  the  first  in 
Europe  with  regard  to  population  and  geographi- 
cal extent. 

The  deputies,  who,  at  the  period  above  named, 
were  sent  from  Warsaw  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon, 
laid  before  him  the  most  earnest  solicitations  for 
the  restoration  of  this  state,  and  endeavoured  to 
direct  his  views  to  the  future,  in  order  to  convince 
him  of  its  necessity.  They  concluded  with  the 
following  words  ;  —  '  Dites,  Sire,  que  le  royaume 
de  Pologne  existe,  et  ce  decret  sera  pour  le  monde 
Pequivalent  de  la  realite.'  To  this  he  answer- 
ed ; —  'Dans  ma  situation,  j'ai  beaucoup  d'inte- 
rets  a  concilier,  beaucoup  de  devoirs  a  remplir. 
Si  j'avais  regne  pendant  le  premier,  le  second,  ou 
le  troisieme  partage  de  la  Pologne,  j'aurais  arme 
mes  peuples  pour  la  defendre.  J'aime  votre  na- 
tion, j'autorise  les  efforts  que  vous  voulez  faire. 
C'est  entierment  dans  Punanimite  de  sa  popula- 
tion, que  vous  pourez  trouver  Pespoir  de  succes. 
Je  dois  aj outer  que  j'ai  guaranti  a  Pempereur 
d'Autriche  Pintegrite  de  ses  domaines. 


?* 


*  *  Say,  Sire,  that  the  kingdom  of  Poland  exists,  and  that 
declaration  will  be,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  the  equivalent 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  7 

Such  a  reply  from  Napoleon,  the  Poles  could 
never  have  expected.  For,  who  accompanied  him 
so  faithfully  in  all  his  expeditions  as  the  sons  of 
Poland  ?  Thousands  of  Poles  lie  buried  in  Italy, 
Egypt,  St  Domingo,  Spain,  and  Russia,  who  had 
fought  for  the  integrity  of  the  French  Republic 
and  for  the  aggrandizement  of  Napoleon.  His 
cold  reception  of  the  deputies  of  Poland  filled  all 
patriots  with  sadness.  They  were  now  convinced, 
that  the  good  wishes  of  Napoleon  for  Poland  were 
not  sincere,  and  that,  through  his  marriage  with 
Maria  Louisa,  he  had  come  under  Austrian  influ- 
ence. Thus  the  hope  of  territorial  enlargement 
and  national  existence  vanished  away,  and  Napo- 
leon, by  his  indifference  to  the  interests  of  Poland, 
accelerated  his  own  fall.  The  burning  of  Mos- 
cow, which  was  a  chance  that  did  not  enter  into 
his  calculations,  became  the  turning  point  of  his 
fate.  The  Poles,  who  had  contributed  to  his 
greatness,  did  not  desert  him  in  his  distress ;  they 
were  his  companions  to  the  very  last.  Half  a 
squadron  of  them  followed  him  to  Elba,  at  his 
own  request.  The  disasters  of  France  decided 
the  fate  of  Poland.     By  the   Congress  of  Vienna, 

of  the  reality.'  To  this  he  answered  ;  —  'In  my  situation, 
I  have  many  interests  to  conciliate,  many  duties  to  fulfil.  If 
I  had  reigned  during  the  first,  the  second,  or  the  third  par- 
tition of  Poland,  I  would  have  armed  my  people  to  defend 
her.  I  love  your  nation  ;  I  authorize  the  efforts  which  you 
wish  to  make.  It  is  alone  in  the  unanimity  of  your  popula- 
tion that  you  will  find  the  hope  of  success.  I  ought  to  add 
that  I  have  guarantied  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria  the  in- 
tegrity of  his  dominions.' 


8  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

the  Grand-duchy  of  Warsaw  was  made  into  a  king- 
dom, and  subjected  to  the  iron  sceptre  of  Russia. 

At  the  first  moment  of  entering  upon  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  kingdom,  the  Emperor  Alexander 
seemed  disposed  to  load  Poland  with  benefits. 
On  his  return  from  Paris  he  was  received  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Warsaw  with  the  most  unfeigned 
good  will,  and  his  stay  in  that  city  was  marked 
by  acts  of  beneficence.  The  words  with  which 
he  then  addressed  the  representatives  of  the  na- 
tion, are  still  in  the  memory  of  every  Pole.  — 
'  Gentlemen,  I  respect  and  love  your  nation.  To 
these  feelings  on  my  part,  in  which  all  Europe 
partakes,  you  arc  entitled  by  your  continual  and 
disinterested  sacrifices  for  the  prosperity  of  other 
nations.  I  swear  to  maintain  your  constitution 
with  all  the  privileges  guarantied  by  it ;  and  this 
same  constitution  I  promise  to  grant  to  your 
brethren  in  the  provinces,  which  are  to  be  united 
with  you  in  one  kingdom.'  The  nation  believed 
in  these  promises  the  more  readily  as  the  affec- 
tionate deportment  of  the  monarch  seemed  to  con- 
firm them.  During  his  stay  in  Warsaw,  he  paid 
visits  to  several  of  the  most  popular  and  patriotic 
families  and  individuals,  and  every  where  express- 
ed himself  in  terms  of  the  highest  esteem  for  the 
Polish  nation. 

This  show  of  benevolence,  and  the  dreams  of 
happiness  with  which  it  inspired  the  people,  were 
not,  however  of  long  duration.  Before  his  de- 
parttire  from  Warsaw,  the  Emperor  named  as  vice- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  9 

roy  of  Poland,  the  old  general  Zajaczek,*  raising 
him  to  the  dignity  of  a  prince,  and  his  own  bro- 
ther, the  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  as  commander 
in  chief  of  the  Polish  army.  The  appointment  of 
these  persons  to  the  supreme  power  w^as  already 
in  direct  opposition  to  all  the  promises  he  had 
made.  For  Zajaczek,  through  the  infirmities  of 
his  advanced  age,  was  unfit  for  the  post  of  viceroy, 
and  could  be  but  an  instrument  in  Russian  hands  ; 
while  in  Constantine,  the  commander  in  chief  of 
their  army,  the  Poles  received  a  tyrant. 

Not  long  after  the  departure  of  Alexander,  the 
encroachments  of  the  Russian  cabinet  began  to  be 
felt.  Removals  of  officers  took  place  in  all  the 
branches  of  government,  in  particular  of  those 
known  as  patriots,  who  were  supplanted  by  min- 
ions of  Russia,  men  full  of  ambition  and  intrigue. 
In  the  first  year  of  the  Russian  government,  the 
bureau  of  Police  was  enlarged,  and  filled  with 
persons  whom  the  nation  despised.  The  Polish 
army,  which  had  gathered  laurels  in  so  many  coun- 
tries of  the  three  continents,  and  which  was  held 
in  such  high  estimation  by  the  first  monarch  and 
general  in  Europe,  was  exposed,  on  the  very  first 
days  of  the  new  government,  to  the  insults  of 
Constantine.     There  was  not  an  officer,  but  was 

*  Zajaczek  commenced  his  military  career  in  the  time  of 
Kosciusko,  continued  it  among  the  Polish  legions,  and  ac- 
companied Napoleon  to  Egypt,  where  he  served  with  dis- 
tinction. He  was  present  in  all  the  later  campaigns  of  Na- 
poleon, till  1809,  when  he  returned,  on  account  of  his  ad- 
vanced age  and  the  loss  of  one  of  his  legs. 


10  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

grossly  offended  by  the  Grand  Duke,  and  more 
than  all,  those  who  wore  military  decorations  for 
their  merits.  No  past  services  were  valued  ;  they 
only  exposed  those  who  were  distinguished  by 
them  to  greater  persecution.  In  the  first  six 
months,  many  officers,  among  whom  was  the  re- 
nowned general  Sokolnicki,  committed  suicide ; 
and  nearly  one  half  the  officers  and  generals  asked 
their  dismission,  among  whom  was  General,  the 
late  Dictator,  Chlopicki,  who  preferred  poverty 
and  want  to  such  an  ignominious  service.  The 
Polish  army,  those  soldiers  animated  by  feelings 
of  honor  and  the  love  of  distinction,  were  to  be 
transformed  into  the  machines  of  despotism.  They 
who  had  faced  death  in  so  many  battles,  who  were 
covered  with  wounds,  and  who  had  been  called 
'  brethren'  by  the  greatest  leader  of  his  age,  were 
now  to  be  beaten  with  the  Russian  knout.  In  the 
first  year,  few  days  passed  in  which  some  of  the 
soldiers  did  not  commit  suicide. 

This  prince,  who  appeared  not  to  find  victims 
enough  ifor  his  cruelty  in  the  army,  began  to  med- 
dle with  all  the  branches  of  administration,  and  to 
control  them.  Soon  the  liberty  of  the  press  was 
prohibited,  freemasonry  was  interdicted,  and  a 
bureau  of  spies  was  established.  The  chief  in 
this  bureau  of  spies  were  Rozniecki,  the  vice-pre- 
sident of  the  city  of  Warsaw,  Lubowidzki,  a  man 
of  the  name  of  Macrot,  and  Schlee.  From  the 
documents  found  upon  Schlee  and  Macrot,  it  was 
ascertained  that  there  were  in  Warsaw  alone  900 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  H 

spies.  In  the  provinces  their  number  amounted  to 
2000.  The  expenses  and  salaries  of  these  spies, 
according  to  accounts  found  among  their  papers, 
drew  from  the  public  treasury  ;^  1,000,000,  or 
6,000,000  Polish  gilders.  Thus,  our  poor  coun- 
try, instead  of  employing  her  resources  for  the 
happiness  of  her  children,  v^^as  forced  to  pay  the 
mercenaries  hired  to  distress  them.  Soon  War- 
saw and  the  whole  kingdom  became  one  vast 
prison.  These  spies  endeavoured  to  steal  into 
every  company,  and  were  present  in  all  public 
places.  They  tried  to  catch  every  conversation, 
and  distorted  every  word  spoken,  with  however 
innocent  an  intention,  in  regard  to  the  policy  and 
administration  of  the  country.  In  order  to  extort 
money,  they  accused  some  of  the  most  respected 
and  honest  persons,  who  were  thrown  into  prison, 
and  many  of  whom  were  never  again  seen  by 
their  families,  from  the  midst  of  whom  they  had 
been  dragged  in  the  night-time,  in  order  to  con- 
ceal the  crime  from  the  eyes  of  the  world.  Per- 
sons who  did  not  take  off  their  hats  in  the  streets 
before  the  Grand  Duke,  were  compelled  to  draw 
barrows  of  mud  upon  the  public  places.  There 
passed  hardly  a  month  in  which  some  students 
were  not  arrested,  and,  without  any  trial,  at  the 
mere  denunciation  of  a  hireling  spy,  thrown  into 
prison,  where  they  lingered  for  years.  Thus 
faded  away  in  dungeons  many  fair  and  hopeful 
youths,  the  flower  of  our  nation.  In  Warsaw, 
besides    the    public   gaols,   there   were,   beneath 


12  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

almost  all  of  the  barracks,  prisons,  where  the  vic- 
tims of  tyranny  were  tortured.  The  very  orangery 
of  the  Grand  Duke  was  transformed  into  a  prison, 
from  which  some  persons  were  liberated  during 
the  revolution,  who  had  been  confined  there  for 
years.  It  was  in  this  prison  that  Lukasinski  had 
been  kept  for  a  long  time,  though  subsequently 
bound  to  a  cannon  and  carried  into  Russia.  In 
the  gaols  below  the  barracks  of  the  artillery  many 
dead  bodies  were  found. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Diet,  when  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantino  was  among  the  deputies 
from  the  city  of  Praga,  and  debates  commenced  on 
various  subjects  which  concerned  the  welfare  of 
the  country,  —  such  as,  the  liberty  of  the  press,  the 
abolition  of  the  central  police  and  the  spies,  and 
the  deposition  of  several  of  the  higher  officers,  for 
which  petitions  had  been  sent  to  the  monarch,  — 
a  decision  was  promulgated  that  the  Diet  should 
act  in  subordination  to  the  will  of  the  Grand 
Duke,  and,  in  order  to  add  force  to  this  decis- 
ion, the  palace  and  its  galleries  were  surrounded 
and  filled  by  guards.  All  public  debates  during 
the  session  were  prohibited,  and  a  ticket  from 
the  police  was  required  for  admission.  These 
tickets  were  distributed  among  Russian  generals, 
officers  of  government  and  their  families,  and  crea- 
tures of  the  court.  Before  such  an  auditory,  dis- 
cussions of  the  most  sacred  interest  to  the  nation 
were  to  take  place.  No  patriot  could  behold, 
without  tears,  the  senators  and  fathers  of  the  na- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  18 

tions,  descendants  of  Tarnowski,  Zamoiski,  Chod- 
kiewicz,  and  Kosciusko,  sitting  with  sad  and 
drooping  countenances,  exposed  to  the  scoffing 
and  laughter  of  those  minions  of  the  court.  The 
sacred  halls  were  transformed  into  a  theatre  for 
Russian  spectators. 

In  all  the  different  bureaus,  spies  held  important 
offices,  and  thus  those  bureaus  became  scenes  of 
the  most  detestable  intrigues.  Law  and  right 
were  trampled  under  foot,  and  the  constitution 
itself  was  derided.  They  used  to  express  them- 
selves in  the  following  and  similar  terms  :  — '  What 
is  the  constitution  ?  It  is  an  impediment  to  the 
administration  of  the  government,  and  the  course 
of  justice.  The  Grand  Duke  is  the  best  consti- 
tution.' 

A  few  years  had  passed  away  in  this  wretched 
state  of  the  nation,  when,  towards  1821,  our  noble 
patriots,  Krzyzanowski,  Jablonowski,  Plichta,  De- 
bek,  and  Soltyk,  conceived  the  idea  of  emancipa- 
ting their  country  by  a  revolution.  Whilst  occupied 
with  their  noble  scheme,  they  were  most  agree- 
ably surprised  by  receiving  information,  in  1824, 
of  a  similar  patriotic  union  in  Russia  for  throwing 
off  the  yoke  of  despotism.  Their  joy  was  in- 
creased when  they  received  a  summons  from  this 
patriotic  union  in  Russia,  at  the  head  of  which 
were  Pestel,  Releiew,  Bestuzew,  Kichelbeker, 
Murawiew,  and  Kachowski,  to  join  hands  with 
them.  This  junction  was  effected  in  Kiow,  on 
the  day  of  the  great  fair,  when  Prince  Jablonow- 
2     ■ 


14  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

ski  became  acquainted  with  some  of  their  mem* 
bers,  and  was  initiated  into  their  plans.  The 
invitation  was  received  by  the  Poles  with  delight. 
Accustomed  to  combat  for  liberty,  they  offered 
with  their  whole  hearts  their  aid  in  the  redemption 
of  the  Sarmatic  nation  from  the  chains  by  which 
they  had  been  so  long  bound  down. 

Soon  after  this,  it  was  agreed  to  meet  in  the 
town  of  Orla,  in  the  province  of  Little  Russia, 
where  solemn  oaths  were  sworn  to  sacrifice  life 
and  property  in  the  cause.  Resolutions  were 
taken,  and  the  means  of  their  execution  were 
devised.  The  Russians  promised  to  the  Poles,  in 
case  of  success,  the  surrender  of  all  the  provinces 
as  far  as  the  frontiers  which  Boleslaw-Chrobry 
had  established.  This  promise,  as  well  as  that 
of  eternal  friendship  between  the  two  brother- 
nations,  was  sanctioned  by  the  solemnity  of  oaths. 
The  day  fixed  upon  for  the  breaking  out  of  the 
revolution,  was  the  25th  anniversary  of  the  acces- 
sion of  Alexander,  in  the  month  of  May,  1 826  ; 
and  Biala-Cerkiew  in  Volhynia  was  the  place 
selected  for  the  first  bloAV.  The  reason  for  choos- 
ing this  place,  was,  that  the  whole  imperial  family 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  army  were  to  assemble 
there,  on  the  great  plain  of  the  Dneiper,  to  cele- 
brate the  anniversary  of  the  coronation.  This 
occasion  was  to  bp  improved,  to  gain  over  all  the 
well-disposed  generals,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
secure  the  imperial  family.  In  the  meeting  at 
Orla,  it  was  required  of  the  Poles,   that,  at  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  15 

moment  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution, 
they  should  take  the  life  of  the  Grand  Duke  Con- 
stantine.  To  this  proposition,  however,  Prince 
Jablonowski  answered  in  these  well  known  words  : 
'Russians,  brother  Sarmatians,  you  have  sum- 
moned us  to  co-operate  in  the  holy  work  of  break- 
ing the  bonds  of  slavery  under  which  our  Sarmatic 
race  has  so  long  pined.  We  come  to  you  with 
sincere  hearts,  willing  to  sacrifice  our  fortunes  and 
lives.  Rely,  my  dear  friends,  on  this  our  promise. 
The  many  struggles  in  which  we  have  already 
fought  for  the  sake  of  liberty,  may  warrant  our 
assertions.  Brethren,  you  demand  of  us  to  mur- 
der the  Grand  Duke.  This  we  can  never  do. 
The  Poles  have  never  stained  their  hands  with 
the  blood  of  their  princes.  We  promise  you  to 
secure  his  person  in  the  moment  of  the  revolution, 
and,  as  he  belongs  to  you,  we  shall  deliver  him 
into  your  hands.' 

The  patriotic  associations  on  both  sides  endea- 
vored to  increase  their  party,  by  the  initiation  of 
many  brave  men  in  the  army  and  in  civil  life. 
In  Lithuania,  the  respectable  president  of  the 
nobles,  Downarowicz,  and  the  noble  Rukiewicz 
of  the  Lithuanian  corps,  with  many  other  officers, 
were  admitted  into  the  conspiracy,  and  among 
others  Jgelstrom,  Wigielin,  Hoffman,  and  Wielk- 
aniec.  All  the  plans  for  the  approaching  revolu- 
tion were  arranged  with  the  utmost  circumspec- 
tion, and  every  circumstance  seemed  to  promise 
success,  when  the  sudden  death  of  the  Emperor 


16  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Alexander,  at  Taganrog,  in  the  early  part  of  De- 
cember, 1825,  darkened  our  bright  hopes. 

The  news  of  his  death  had,  at  first,  a  stunning 
effect  upon  the  patriotic  club  in  Petersburgh. 
Nevertheless,  they  resolved  to  act.  They  hoped 
to  profit  by  the  troubles  between  Constantine  and 
Nicholas,  about  the  succession.  On  the  18th  of 
December  of  the  same  year,  the  signal  for  revolt 
was  given  in  Petersburgh.  Some  regiments  of 
the  guard  were  on  the  side  of  the  patriots,  and 
with  them  assembled  great  numbers  of  the  people 
ready  to  fight  for  liberty.  Yet  all  this  was  done 
without  sufficient  energy,  and  without  good  lead- 
ers. It  was  unfortunate,  that  at  the  time.  Colonel 
Pestel,  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  a  man  of  great 
talents  and  energy,  happened  to  be  absent  in  Mos- 
cow. The  people  assembled  in  their  holy  cause, 
but,  being  without  leaders,  began  to  fall  into  dis- 
order, and  a  few  discharges  of  cannon  were  suffi- 
cient to  disperse  them. 

As  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  on  account  of 
his  marriage  with  a  noble  Polish  lady,  Grudzinska, 
in  1825,  was  obliged  to  renounce  the  throne  of 
Russia,  the  imperial  power  was,  by  a  written  doc- 
ument, given  to  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  as  the 
eldest  in  succession  after  him. 

Some  days  after  the  proclamation  of  Nicholas, 
all  the  prisons  of  the  realm  were  prepared  to  re- 
ceive their  new  inmates.  Petersburgh,  Moscow^ 
Wilna,  Kiow,  Bialystok,  and  Warsaw,  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  places  of  trial.     Over  the  whole  of 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  11 

Poland  and  Russia  the  sword  of  cruel  revenge  vs^as 
suspended.  In  Petersburgh j  the  martyrs  of  liberty, 
Pestel,  Muraviev^^,  Releiew,  Bestuzew,  Kachov^- 
ski,  were  hung  on  the  gallows,  and  more  than  two 
hundred  persons  of  the  noblest  families  were  sent 
to  Siberia.  In  Wilna,  Kiow,  and  Moscow,  an  im- 
mense number  were  thrown  into  prison,  or  trans- 
ported to  Siberia.  In  Bialystok  the  Russian  gen- 
eral, Wiliaminow,  was  appointed  an  inquisitor. 
This  infamous  character  treated  the  wretched  pris- 
oners with  the  utmost  cruelty.  Rukiewicz,*  Jgel- 
strom,  and  Wigelin,  were  exiled  to  Siberia  for  life. 

*  This  nobleman  (Rukiewicz)  had  two  beautiful  sisters, 
Cornelia  and  Theresa,  whose  heroic  behavior  deserves  to  be 
recorded.  He  was  secretary  of  the  Patriotic  Club  in 
Lithuania,  and  kept  the  records  and  papers  of  the  society 
in  the  village  where  he  lived,  near  Bialystok;  and  in  order 
to  do  this  business  without  disturbance,  he  had  prepared  a 
little  summer-house  in  the  garden  near  his  mansion.  He 
happened  to  be  from  home  when  arrested,  and  immediately 
after  his  arrest,  the  police  sent  a  Russian  officer  with  gens 
d'armes  to  his  village,  in  order  to  take  possession  of  his  pa- 
pers. His  sisters,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  event,  were 
quietly  at  home  when  they  beheld  the  officer  w4th  his  suite 
riding  into  the  court-yard.  A  presaging  fear  of  the  truth 
seized  them,  but  gave  place  immediately  to  an  heroic  reso- 
lution. The  younger  remained  in  the  room  in  order  to  re- 
ceive and  detain  these  agents  of  tyranny,  whilst  the  elder, 
Cornelia,  carried  in  haste  some  combustibles  to  the  summer- 
house,  which  was  soon  on  fire,  and  more  than  two  hundred 
persons,  whose  names  were  contained  in  the  register,  were 
thus  saved  by  the  presence  of  mind  of  that  heroic  lady.  She 
returned  to  the  parlor  with  the  noblest  and  most  delighted 
mien,  and,  on  the  officer's  enquiring  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
fire,  she  answered  with  a  smile,  '  Gentlemen,  I  only  wanted 
to  save  you  the  trouble  of  some  farther  brutalities.  I  have 
burnt  the  papers  and  documents  of  my  brother.  You  may 
be  sure  not  to  find  anything  left ;  and  now  I  am  your  pris- 
oner.    Drag  me  along  with  you,  to  increase  the  number  of 


18  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

In  Warsaw,  the  Grand  Duke  himself  undertook 
the  business  of  establishing  an  inquisition  over  the 
unhappy  prisoners.  This  court  vs^as  composed  of 
persons  in  the  Russian  interest,  a  circumstance, 
the  melancholy  consequences  of  which  soon  be- 
came manifest.  Senator  Soltyk,  an  old  man  sev- 
enty years  of  age,  was  flogged  with  the  knout. 
Krzyzanowski,  unable  to  endure  the  tortures  in- 
flicted upon  him,  committed  suicide.  General 
Procurator  Wyezechowski,  that  unworthy  son  of 
Poland,  sentenced  all  who  were  condemned  to 
death,  to  be  hung  on  a  gallows,  and  their  bodies 
to  be  exposed  upon  the  wheel.  This  horrid  sen- 
tence, however,  was,  notwithstanding  all  the  Grand 
Duke's  influence,  mitigated  by  the  supreme  court 
of  the  senate,  which  still  contained  many  worthy 
men  under  the  presidency  of  the  venerable  woye- 
wode,  Bilinski.  The  infamous  Wyezechowski  was 
unable  to  oppose  this  virtuous  old  man,  whose 
powerful    eloquence    was   a  mirror  of  his   noble 

your  victims.'  Both  the  ladies  were  carried  to  prison, 
and  treated  in  the  most  unworthy  manner  during  three 
years.  When  these  noble  sisters  were  dismissed  from  pris- 
on, they  found  themselves  bereft  of  every  consolation.  They 
had  no  parents  left.  Their  only  brother,  who  had  been 
both  parent  and  brother  to  them,  was  now  gone.  They 
could  not  endure  the  thought  of  leaving  him  to  pine  away 
so  far  from  them  in  chains,  and  they  resolved  to  partake 
and  thus  to  relieve  his  sufferings.  Regardless  of  the  re- 
monstrances of  their  friends,  they  left  everything,  and,  tra- 
velling in  the  humblest  manner,  mostly  on  foot  or  upon  the 
wagons  of  the  peasantry,  they  undertook  the  journey  to 
Siberia.  It  is  not  known  whether  Providence  granted  them 
to  reach  their  beloved  brother  or  not. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  19 

heart.  President  Bilinski,  fearless  of  the  threats 
of  the  Russians,  whose  briberies  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  treat  with  disdain,  guided  by  the  articles 
of  the  criminal  code,  altered  the  sentence  of  death 
to  a  few  years  imprisonment.  This  mitigation  of 
the  sentence  was  signed  by  all  the  senators,  with 
one  exception.* 

After  Nicholas  had  ascended  the  throne  over 
steps  of  blood,  he  was  crowned,  in  1 826,  Emperor 
of  Russia.  Two  years  after  \his,  in  1828,  he  was 
again  crowned  in  Warsaw  as  King  of  Poland. 
This  monarch  at  first  intended  not  to  go  through 
with  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation  in  Warsaw, 
in  order  to  avoid  the  oath  of  the  constitution.  Yet, 
from  fear  of  revolutionary  scenes,  he  suffered  him- 
self to  be  persuaded  to  do  it,  and  took  the  oath, 
like  his  predecessor  and  brother,  Alexander,  to 
maintain  the  constitution  and  the  privileges  guar- 
antied by  it. 

Poland  may  have  suffered  under  Alexander  ;  yet 
he  loved  the  nation  like  a  friend,  as  every  one  of 

*  To  this  court,  which  was  called  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Diet,  and  which  was  established  in  order  to  try  these  pri- 
soners of  state,  was  appointed  general  Count  Vincenti  Kra- 
sinski,  a  man  of  great  merit,  a  brave  soldier  as  well  as  a 
good  citizen,  and  on  this  account  very  much  beloved  by  the 
nation.  The  soldiers,  indeed,  regarded  him  as  a  father. 
Yet  this  man  could  so  far  forget  himself  as  to  take  up  the 
bloody  pen  to  sign  the  death  of  his  fellow  citizens  —  the 
only  one  of  his  nation.  It  is  with  painful  feelings  that  I 
name  him  in  this  narrative  as  the  enemy  of  his  country,  af- 
ter having  been  faithful  to  it  for  fifty  years,  and  after  having 
made  for  it  the  greatest  sacrifices.  Vincenti  Krasinski, 
whom  his  country  has  erased,  as  a  lost  son,  from  the  register 
of  her  children,  is  a  strong  example  of  the  great  power  of 
Russian  seduction. 


20  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

my  countrymen  will  allow.  When  he  was  mis- 
taken in  his  measures,  it  was,  that,  surrounded  by 
bad  men  and  enemies  of  our  nation,  he  was  pre- 
vented from  knowing  the  truth.  He  was  him- 
self too  much  engrossed  in  pleasures,  to  visit  the 
hut  of  the  poor  in  order  to  obtain  information  of 
his  condition.  Poland  forgave  him  all  his  faults, 
in  the  grateful  recollection  that  he  had  restored 
her  to  a  separate  existence,  and  respected  the 
constitution.  Far  different  in  our  eyes  appeared 
the  present  emperor,  Nicholas.  Partaking  of  the 
errors  of  his  predecessor,  he  exhibited  none  of  his 
virtues.  Alexander,  with  a  benignant  counte- 
nance, permitted  every  one  to  approach  him  freely, 
and  his  features  were  never  distorted  by  passion. 
Nicholas,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  to  terrify  by  his 
very  look.  His  lowering  and  overbearing  eye 
was  the  true  mirror  of  Asiatic  despotism.  Every 
movement  was  that  of  command  ;  and  his  imperi- 
ous air  was  in  true  harmony  with  the  ruling  pas- 
sion of  his  mind.  Such  a  sovereign,  acting  through 
the  instrumentality  of  a  brother  like  himself,  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantine,  must  needs  bring  dis- 
tress upon  our  country.  Whole  volumes  might  be 
filled  with  the  relation  of  the  atrocities  of  this  gov- 
ernment. The  daily  increasing  host  of  spies  in  its 
employ,  among  whom  even  females  were  found, 
regarded  nothing  as  sacred,  and  mocked  at  the 
most  holy  institutions.  They  lavished  away  mil- 
lions of  the  public  funds.  Everything  was  per- 
mitted to  them.     In  short,  the  intention  of  this 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  21 

government  seemed  to  be  to  plunge  our  country 
into  the  deepest  distress,  in  order  to  force  us  to 
the  abandonment  of  every  national  feeling,  and  to 
make  us  slaves  of  the  Russians.  Yet  in  this  hope 
they  were  deceived.  The  more  the  nation  was 
oppressed,*  the  more  its  energy  of  character  was 

*  As  already  remarked,  it  would  be  impossible  to  describe 
the  various  kinds  of  cruelty  exercised  by  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment. Yet,  in  order  to  make  the  reader  acquainted  with 
some  of  them,  I  shall  here  state  a  few  facts.  — In  our  c(Tun- 
try,  the  distilling  and  brewing  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  the 
planting  of  tobacco,  as  well  as  the  sale  of  these  articles,  was 
a  privilege  of  the  landed  proprietors.  Warsaw,  as  the  cap- 
ital and  the  most  populous  city,  was  the  best  market  for 
these  productions,  and  all  the  noblemen  endeavoured  to 
bring  their  produce  to  Warsaw  for  sale.  In  this  manner 
they  supplied  themselves  with  money  and  enhanced  the  va- 
lue of  their  grain,  while  their  liquors,  as  well  as  tobacco, 
could  be  sold  at  very  low  prices,  to  the  pecuniary  benefit  of 
all  the  laboring  classes  and  the  soldiery.  These  advanta- 
ges, however,  soon  became  an  object  of  attention  to  the 
government  agents.  One  of  their  number,  the  Jew,  Now- 
achowiez,  who,  by  the  greatest  impositions,  had  acquired  an 
immense  fortune,  devised  a  plan  for  monopolizing  the  pro- 
duction and  sale  of  every  kind  of  liquor  and  of  tobacco. 
He  obtained  the  exclusive  right  of  selling  them,  and  all  the 
noblemen  were  forbidden  to  dispose  of  these  articles  with- 
out his  permission,  for  which  a  duty  was  to  be  paid.  For 
this  monopoly  he  paid  to  the  government  2,000,000  of  Polish 
gilders  ($333,333  1-3)  for  which  he  more  than  doubly  in- 
demnified himself  by  the  enormous  taxes  levied  upon  the 
consumers  of  these  articles.  This  innovation,  so  oppressive 
to  the  poorer  classes,  and  invented  merely  to  enrich  this 
Jew  and  his  partners,  irritated  all  the  land  proprietors,  and 
still  more  the  laboring  classes,  who  were  suffering  by  it. 
For  two  years  in  succession  petitions  were  made  for  the 
reformation  of  these  abuses,  but  the  government  only  insisted 
upon  the  prohibition  with  the  greater  severity.  Nowacho- 
wiez,  indeed,  employed  a  guard,  who  wore  uniforms.  All 
the  environs  of  Warsaw  were  filled  with  these  guards,  and 
the  greatest  excesses  were  committed  by  them.  A  poor 
day-laborer,  after   having  purchased  at  some  distance  from 

3 


22  THE   POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

Steeled,  and  the  more  the  love  of  country  devel- 
oped itself. 

Two  worthy    sons    of  Poland,    Wysocki    and 
Schlegel,  mourning  over  the  martyrdom  of  Krzy- 

the  city,  some  brandy  and  tobacco,  carried  these  articles  at 
evening  to  Warsaw.  On  his  way  he  was  stopped  by  these 
men.  They  took  all  from  him,  and  demanded  a  lieavieT 
fine  than  the  articles  were  worth.  As  the  poor  man  was 
unable  to  pay  the  fine,  they  abused  him,  and  were  about  to 
carry  him  to  prison.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  making  his 
escape,  and,  as  it  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  residence  of  a 
nobleman  by  the  name  of  Biernacki,  he  sought  shelter  on 
his  estate.  The  guards  in  pursuit  entered  the  mansion  of 
this  nobleman.  Biernacki  heard  the  tumult  of  the  guard 
seizing  and  roughly  handling  the  poor  man,  and,  ascertain- 
ing the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  he  censured  them  for  their 
inhumanity  about  such  a  trifle.  In  order,  however,  to  save 
the  man  from  farther  insults,  he  retained  him,  with  the  in- 
tention of  sending  him  the  next  day  with  a  note  to  Now- 
achowiez  for  his  exculpation.  The  very  moment  that  Bier- 
nacki was  occupied  in  writing  the  letter,  an  officer  of  the 
gens  d'armcs,  with  four  j^rivates,  stepped  in.  Biernacki  in- 
quired the  cause  of  this  visit,  and  was  told  in  answer,  that 
he  was  arrested  for  having  protected  a  defrauder.  Thus, 
surrounded  by  four  soldiers,  this  man  was  publicly  carried 
through  Warsaw  to  the  prison  of  the  Carmelites.  Not  sat- 
isfied with  this,  Nowachowiez  succeeded  in  obtaining  from 
the  Grand  Duke,  who  hated  Biernacki  as  a  patriotic  Pole, 
a  squadron  of  Russian  Hulans,  consisting  of  200  horse,  to 
quarter  for  a  whole  week  on  his  estate,  in  execution,  as  it  is 
termed.  The  Russian  soldiers  took  possession  of  all  the 
buildings  on  the  estate.  In  the  apartments  which  they  used 
for  barracks,  they  broke  all  the  furniture,  lustres,  pianos, 
&c,  and  carried  in  their  straw  for  sleeping.  In  the  court- 
yard they  made  a  fire,  for  which  they  used  the  pieces  of  fur- 
niture for  fuel.  They  took  the  wheat  from  the  barns  to  feed 
their  horses,  and  butchered  the  cattle.  In  short,  the  most 
shameful  depredations  and  excesses  were  committed  by  offi- 
cers and  soldiers,  regardless  of  the  situation  of  the  lady  of 
this  nobleman,  who  was  confined  in  childbed,  and  who  for 
a  whole  year  was  in  danger  of  her  life  from  the  consequen- 
ces of  her  terror.     This  barbarous  order  of  the  Grand  Duke 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  23 

zanowoski,  Soltyk,  Dembek,  and  Plichta,  and 
meditating  on  the  distresses  of  their  country,  re- 
solved to  attempt  its  deliverance.  By  these  two 
young  champions  of  Poland,  the  first  idea  of  the 

puined  the  fortune  of  that  unhappy  man,  and  the  amount  of 
his  property  destroyed  may  be  estimated  at  least  at  from 
70,000  to  80,000  gilders.  Biernacki  was  imprisoned  for  a 
whole  year,  after  which  he  was  dismissed  to  weep  over  the 
sufferings  of  his  wife,  and  his  ruined  fortune.  The  poor  of- 
fender was  punished  with  800  blows  of  the  knout,  of  which 
he  died  in  a  few  days. 

The  second  story  perhaps  surpasses  the  former  in  cruelty, 
and  would  suit  the  times  of  Nero.  General  Rozniecki,  and 
the  vice  president  of  the  City  of  Warsaw,  Lubowiecki,  had 
their  agents,  who  travelled  through  the  country  in  order  to 
superintend  the  services  of  the  secret  police.  Among  them 
was  a  Jew,  named  Birnbaum,  whose  crimes  surpass  concep- 
tion. He  travelled  through  the  whole  country,  and  every 
where  found  pretexts  for  accusations  against  the  noblemen, 
who  had  to  pay  him  fines  to  secure  themselves  from  prison. 
He  took  up  vast  sums,  that  were  never  accounted  for  to  his 
superiors.  They  were  divided  with  Rozniecki,  Lubowiecki, 
Macrot,  and  Schlee,  with  some  Russian  generals,  and  the 
servants  of  the  Grand  Duke,  Kochanowski  and  Trize,  all  of 
whom,  like  this  Jew,  made  immense  fortunes,  some  of  them 
to  the  amount  of  hundreds  of  thousands.  When,  in  order 
to  encourage  the  manufactures  of  the  country,  the  importa- 
tion of  all  broadcloths,  cotton  and  linen  goods  were  forbid- 
den, Birnbaum,  in  secret  understanding  with  his  superiors, 
found  out  the  way  of  drawing  to  himself  the  greatest  ad- 
vantages from  this  decree.  He  persuaded  two  other  Jews, 
by  the  promise  of  a  part  of  the  gain,  and  of  his  protection, 
to  smuggle  these  articles  and  to  sell  them  among  the  gentry 
of  the  country.  A  place  on  the  frontiers  was  selected  for  a 
depot  of  these  contraband  wares,  which  the  country  noble- 
men purchased  in  ignorance  of  their  unlawful  importation, 
and  induced  by  their  low  prices.  On  a  sudden,  Birnbaum 
visited  these  districts,  examined  the  warehouses  of  the  no- 
blemen, found  the  contraband  goods,  and  forced  them  to  the 
alternative  of  either  paying  him  a  large  sum  of  money  or 
going  to  prison.  Many,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  paid  the 
fines  imposed ;  others,  who  refused,  were  imprisoned.  By 
such  means,  this  Jew,  as  was  found  afterwards  by  the  re- 


24  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

revolution  was  conceived.  They  communicated 
their  hopes  to  several  other  patriots,  and  thus  v^as 
formed  the  Patriotic  Club.  This  association,  nour- 
ishing in  their  secret  breasts  the  holy  spark  of  lib- 
erty, increased  it  soon  to  a  flaming  light,  by  which 
the  whole  nation  was  led  to  honor  and  glory. 
These  heroic  men  fearlessly  persevered  in  their 
endeavors,  during  five  years,  exposed  to  the  great- 
est dangers  and  amidst  thousands  of  spies.  Wit- 
nesses of  the  continually  aggravated  oppression  of 
their  country,  they  became  more  and  more  animat- 
ed to  risk  every  thing  for  their  holy  object. 

While  this  tyrannical  government  was  exulting 
in  the  success  of  its  measures,  and  the  honor  and 
morals  of  our  country  were  fast  declining,  the  revo- 
lution of  France  occurred,  and  it  instantly  roused 
every  mind  to  a  comparison  of  our  state  with  that 
of  the  French,  who  had  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  a 
Machiavelian  dynasty.  The  three  days  of  July 
were  days  of  joy,  not  only  to  every  brave  son  of 
France,    but  to  every  patriotic  heart  in  Poland. 

cords  and  documents  of  the  police,  brought  to  prison  more 
than  a  hundred  persons,  who  were  treated  in  the  most  bar- 
barous manner.  They  had  no  food  given  them  but  herrings 
without  wat^er,  and  many  of  these  unfortunate  persons  died 
in  consequence.  At  last  Birnbaum  fell  out  with  his  accom- 
plices, on  occasion  of  the  division  of  profits.  He  had  them, 
likewise,  thrown  into  prison  to  perish  there.  Their  fami- 
lies, however,  accused  him  at  their  Kahal,*  or  Council  of  the 
Jews,  arid  by  means  of  money  contrived  to  have  him  ar- 
rested. He  was  poisoned  in  his  prison,  as  many  persons  of 
consequence  were  found  to  be  implicated  in  his  impositions. 

*  Kahal  is  a  Jewish  court  of  administration,  composed  of  the  elders,  who  are  respon- 
sible to  the  government  for  their  nation,  and  are  of  great  authority. 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  25 

How  much  were  they  enraptured,  who  hitherto 
in  secret  had  been  labouring  for  the  redemption  of 
their  country  !  The  happy  result  of  those  glorious 
days  was  a  peal  of  terror  to  the  Grand  Duke  Con- 
stantine,  and  to  the  whole  swarm  of  agents  in  his 
tyrannical  sway.  It  gave  them  a  presage  of  their 
approaching  retribution.  Yet,  instead  of  adopting 
milder  measures,  and  endeavouring  to  propitiate  the 
nation,  their  cruelties  went  on  as  before.  The 
government  had,  indeed,  advanced  too  far  in  its 
barbarous  system  to  draw  back.  The  activity  of 
the  spies  was  redoubled.  From  the  first  reception 
of  the  news  of  the  French  revolution,  there  did  not 
pass  a  day  on  which  some  persons  were  not  impris- 
oned in  Warsaw  or  the  provinces.  On  the  night  of 
the  7th  of  September,  forty  students  were  seized 
in  th^ir  beds  and  carried  to  prison. 

Again,  the  new  revolutionary  eruption  of  Belgium 
cheered  and  encouraged  the  heart  of  every  patriotic 
Pole.  The  hour  for  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  tyran- 
ny was  fast  approaching.  The  leaders  of  the  rev- 
olution succeeded  in  communicating  their  senti- 
ments to  continually  increasing  numbers.  Many 
officers  of  the  4th  regiment  of  the  line  and  of  the 
sappers  were  initiated.  Yet  at  this  very  time, 
when  the  revolution  was  every  moment  expected 
to  break  out,  the  Russian  despot,  in  concert  with 
Prussia  and  Austria,  commenced  his  preparations 
for  a  war  against  France  and  Belgium.  The  Po- 
lish army  was  destined  to  serve  as  the  vanguard  of 
this   expedition,  and  Modlin   and   Warsaw  were 


26  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Stored  with  large  quantities  of  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion from  Russia.  All  the  regiments  were  complet- 
ed, and  the  order  for  marching  was  momentarily 
expected. 

These  circumstances  attracted  the  notice  of  our 
patriots,  and  they  decided  to  accelerate  the  revolu- 
tion, in  order  to  anticipate  the  march  of  the  army. 
The  eruption  was  hastened  by  the  following  event. 
The  citizens  of  Warsaw  were  obliged  to  furnish 
quarters  for  the  officers  of  the  army.  To  lighten 
this  burden,  and  to  avoid  various  inconveniences,  as 
well  as  to  accommodate  the  officers,  —  by  an  under- 
standing with  the  inhabitants,  it  was  determined, 
that  instead  of  furnishing  quarters,  a  quartering  tax 
should  be  paid.  It  was  intended  in  this  regulation 
to  proportion  the  tax  to  the  size  of  the  houses,  and 
consequently  to  the  profit  which  the  proprietors 
would  derive  from  letting  them.  The  tax  would 
in  this  way  be  equalized,  because,  wherever  levied, 
it  would  be  attended  by  a  proportionate  compensa- 
tion, and  it  was  satisfactory  to  the  inhabitants.  This 
regulation,  however,  was  executed  in  an  entirely 
different  manner.  In  many  cases  the  heavier  taxes 
were  paid  by  the  poorer  inhabitants,  and  indeed 
they  had  sometimes  to  provide  quarters  in  addition 
to  the  payment  of  the  tax.  All  the  persons  em- 
ployed by  the  police  as  spies,  and  who  had  by  vile 
means  acquired  immense  fortunes  and  kept  the 
finest  houses  in  Warsaw,  were  exempt  both  from 
the  tax  and  the  providing  of  quarters.  The  money 
collected  for  the  tax  was  purloined  by  the  commis- 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  27 

sioners  for  quartering,  who  thus  amassed  millions 
of  gilders.* 

A  short  time  before  the  revolution,  the  gross  im- 
positions of  this  commission  were  discovered.  The 
inhabitants  of  Warsaw  began  to  murmur  against  it, 
and  addressed  the  government  for  the  removal  of 
the  persons  employed,  and  the  substitution  of  oth- 
ers in  their  places,  who  should  be  deserving  of  the 
confidence  of  the  citizens.  Among  others,  the  de- 
position of  the  president  of  the  city,  Woyda,  was 
demanded  ;  and  when  the  government  refused  to 
comply  with  the  request,  he  was  publicly  insulted 
and  flogged  in  the  streets.  The  discontent  of  the 
citizens,  in  particular  of  the  poorer  classes,  contin- 
ued to  increase,  and  of  this  discontent  the  patriots 
made  use  in  endeavouring  to  propagate  their  views 
of  the  necessity  of  a  revolution.  Public  opinion 
was  from  day  to  day  expressed  more  boldly.  Pa- 
pers were  pasted  up  in  the  streets,  with  inscrip- 
tions such  as  these  :  —  '  The  dwelling  of  the  Grand 
Duke  will  be  let  from  next  new  year's  day.'  — 
*Away  with  the  tyrants !  Away  with  the  barbari- 
ans to  Asia!'  A  great  concourse  of  citizens  assem- 
bled one  evening  before  the  city  hall,  and  demand- 
ed the  punishment  of  the  quartering  commissioner, 
Czarnecki,  who,  in  his  desperation,  committed 
suicide. 

*  One  man  of  the  name  of  Czarnecki,  a  commissioner  of  the 
quartering  bureau,  in  a  short  time  made  by  these  means  two 
milUons  of  gilders  ;  and  this  robber  of  the  poor  carried  his 
luxury  so  far  as  to  make  use  of  bathing  tubs  lined  with  silver. 


28  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  holy  moment  was  now  fast  approaching,  and 
Warsaw  was  in  anxious  expectation.  Fear  and 
terror  was  painted  in  the  faces  of  the  spies,  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  all  true  patriots  were  in  raptures 
of  joy,  and  waited  impatiently  for  the  moment  to 
strike  the  blow.  For  several  nights  the  whole 
garrison  of  the  city  had  been  under  arms,  by  the 
orders  of  the  Grand  Duke,  who,  tortured  with  the 
consciousness  of  so  many  crimes,  had  no  rest,  and 
surrounded  himself  with  large  bodies  of  guards. 
A  hundred  gens  d'armes  were  on  horseback  for 
many  nights,  constantly  bringing  in  their  victims. 
Strong  patroles  of  Russian  soldiers  traversed  the 
streets.  All  was  in  vain.  His  mercenaries  could 
not  protect  the  tyrant.  The  word  was  given,  the 
oath  was  sworn,  to  fight  for  our  sacred  rights  and 
the  freedom  of  our  country. 

An  event  which  served  to  irritate  all  minds,  and 
hasten  the  revolution,  was  the  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment of  eighty  students.  These  brave  young  men 
were  assembled  in  a  private  house,  in  order  to  pray 
to  God  in  secret  for  the  souls  of  their  murdered  an- 
cestors, on  the  anniversary  of  the  storming  of  Praga, 
by  the  bloody  Suwarrow,  in  1796,  when  none  were 
spared,  and  Praga  swam  with  blood,  and  was  strew- 
ed with  the  corpses  of  30,000  of  its  inhabitants. 
Neither  old  men,  women,  children,  nor  pregnant 
mothers,  were  spared  by  the  barbarous  Russian  sol- 
diers. In  memory  of  this  event,  the  patriots  had 
every  year  met  for  secret  prayer,  since  public  de- 
votions on  the  occasion  had  been  forbidden  by  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  29 

Grand  Duke.  The  abovementioned  students,  with 
some  priests,  were  in  the  act  of  worship,  praying 
to  the  Almighty,  and  honoring  the  memory  of  their 
forefathers,  when  the  doors  were  broken  open  with 
great  violence,  and  a  number  of  gens  d'armes,  under 
their  captain,  Jurgaszko,  with  a  company  of  Rus- 
sian soldiers  behind  them,  entered  the  apartment. 
Our  brave  youths  continued  their  prayers  upon  their 
knees  about  the  altar,  and  in  that  position  suffered 
themselves  to  be  bound,  and  dragged  away  to  pri- 
son. But  this  was  the  last  act  of  cruelty  the  Rus- 
sian government  was  permitted  to  perpetrate,  for 
it  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  nation.  The 
measure  was  full,  and  the  hour  of  retribution  was 
at  hand.  The  news  of  this  outrage  was  spread 
through  Warsaw  with  the  quickness  of  lightning, 
and  it  thrilled  every  heart.  This  was  the  occasion 
for  fixing  upon  the  29th  of  November,  as  the  day 
for  commencing  the  revolution,  on  which  day  the 
4th  Polish  regiment,  many  of  the  officers  of  which 
were  among  the  initiated,  were  to  mount  guard  in 
Warsaw. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Principles  of  the  Revolution. — The  First  Night. — Attack  on  the  Bar- 
racks of  the  Russian  Cavalry. — Their  Dispersion. — Attempt  to  secure 
the  person  of  the  Grand  Duke. — Capture  of  Russian  general  officers  and 
spies. — Actions  with  detached  bodies  of  Russian  cavalry. — Two  compa- 
nies of  Polish  light-infantry  join  the  patriots. — Death  of  Potocki  and 
Trembicki. — The  Russian  infantry  attacked  and  dispersed. — Arma- 
ment and  assembling  of  the  people. — Detachments  sent  to  Praga. 

It  is  undeniable  that  the  history  of  our  nation 
abounds  in  heroic  acts  and  glorious  passages.  Need 
we  instance  the  times  of  Boleslaw,  Casimir,  Jagelo, 
Augustus  of  Warna,  and  Sobieski ;  or  the  deeds  of 
our  renowned  generals  Czarnecki,  Chodkiewicz, 
Tarnowski,  Sapieha,  Kosciusko,  and  Poniatowski  ? 
Yet,  in  our  whole  history,  nothing  transcends  this 
last  revolution ;  and  indeed  few  more  memorable 
events  have  ever  occurred.  Its  plan  was  based  on 
the  purest  motives,  and  this  constitutes  its  peculiar 
character.  Those  true  sons  of  Poland,  Wysocki 
and  Schlegel,  had  no  other  design  than  to  regene- 
rate public  morals  and  the  national  character,  which 
had  already  begun  to  deteriorate  under  Russian  in- 
fluence ;  though,  perhaps,  there  may  have  mingled 
with  these  another  impulse  —  that  of  vengeance  for 
the  ignominy  to  which  we  were  subjected.  These 
feelings  were  shared  by  the  whole  nation — certainly 
a  rare  instance  in  history.  Inspired  by  the  example 
of  the  brave,  even  the  wavering  joined  in  upholding 
the  good  cause  to  support  which  the  sword  was 
drawn.  It  was  this  unanimity  which  emboldened 
us,  small  as  our  numbers  were,  to  meet  that  colos- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  31 

sal  power  dreaded  by  all  Europe.  We  were  not 
animated  to  this  unequal  struggle  by  any  vain  desire 
of  conquest,  but  by  a  resolution  to  shake  off  a  yoke 
so  disgraceful,  and  by  the  wish  to  preserve  our  civil- 
ization, and  to  extend  it  even  to  Russia.  In  draw- 
ing the  sword,  every  Pole  had  in  view  not  only  the 
freedom  of  his  own  country,  but  that  of  his  Sarma- 
tian  brethren  also.  The  Poles  believed  that  Russia 
still  remembered  those  martyrs  of  liberty,  Pestel, 
Bestuzew,  Morawiew,  Kachowski,  and  Releiew, 
who  suffered  an  ignominious  death,  and  more  than 
five  hundred  others  who  were  sent  in  chains  to  Si- 
beria. We  believed  they  would  bear  in  mind,  that, 
in  1824,  they  themselves  summoned  us  to  fight,  side 
by  side,  with  them  against  despotism.  Their  words 
were  still  in  our  memory  —  *  Poles,  help  us  in  our 
holy  cause  !  Unite  your  hearts  with  ours !  Are  we 
not  brethren  ?'  Unworthy  nation  —  soothed  by  the 
momentary  blandishments  of  the  autocrat,  who 
scattered  his  decorations  with  a  lavish  hand,  they 
forgot  their  own  past  sufferings  and  the  future  that 
awaits  them.  They  suffered  themselves  to  be  led 
against  those  who  were  in  arms  for  the  liberty  of 
both  nations.  At  the  very  time  when  the  funeral 
rites  of  those  who  had  died  in  battle,  Russians  as 
well  as  Poles,  were  being  celebrated  in  Warsaw 
and  all  the  provinces,  they  burned  our  villages,  and 
murdered  our  fathers  and  brothers.  Russians  !  You 
have  covered  yourselves  with  eternal  shame,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  whole  world.  Even  the  nations  you 
consider  your  friends  and  allies  contemn  you ! 


32  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

THE  FIRST  NIGHT. 

The  patriots  assembled  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  29th  of  November,  to  renew  their  oaths  and 
ask  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty  on  their  great  un- 
dertaking. The  moment  approached.  Seven  in 
the  evening  was  the  hour  appointed  for  the  com- 
mencement of  the  revolution.  The  signal  agreed 
upon  was,  that  a  wooden  house  should  be  set  on 
fire  in  Szulec  street,  near  the  Vistula.  The  pat- 
riots were  scattered  over  the  city,  ready  to  stir  up 
the  people  on  the  appearance  of  the  signal.  Most 
of  them  were  young  men  and  students.  Some 
hundred  and  twenty  students,  who  were  to  make 
the  beginning,  were  assembled  in  the  southern  part 
of  Warsaw.  All  was  ready.  At  the  stroke  of 
seven,  as  soon  as  the  flame  of  the  house  was  seen 
reflected  on  the  sky,  many  brave  students,  and  some 
oflicers,  rodie  through  the  streets  of  that  part  of  the 
city  called  The  Old  Town,  shouting, '  Poles  !  breth- 
ren !  the  hour  of  vengeance  has  struck  !  The  time 
to  revenge  the  tortures  and  cruelties  of  fifteen  years 
is  come  !  Down  with  the  tyrants  !  To  arms, 
brethren  ;  to  arms  !     Our  country  forever  !' 

The  excitement  spread  through  this  part  of  the 
city  with  incredible  rapidity.  The  citizens  flocked 
together  from  all  quarters,  shouting  *  Down  with 
the  tyrants  !  Poland  forever  !'  At  the  same  time 
a  hundred  and  twenty  students  left  their  barrack 
(which  is  called  the  Hotel  of  the  Cadets,  and  is  sit- 
uated in  the  royal  gardens  of  Lazienki)  under  their 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  33 

gallant  leaders,  Wysocki  and  Schlegel,  and  marched 
to  the  quarters  of  the  Russian  cavalry,  cuirasseurs, 
hulans  and  hussars.  It  was  resolved  to  take  imme- 
diate possession  of  all  the  chief  gates.  The  issu- 
ing out  of  the  Russian  troops  v^as  thereby  rendered 
very  difficult  and  bloody,  as  the  barracks  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  wide  and  deep  moat,  over  which  there 
were  few  bridges.  On  their  arrival,  the  cadets 
found  the  soldiers  in  the  utmost  confusion.  Some 
were  saddling  their  horses,  some  were  leading  them 
out,  and  others  were  occupied  in  securing  the  maga- 
zines, &c.  In  short,  panic  and  disorder  pervaded 
officers  and  men ;  each  sought  his  own  safety  only. 
Our  young  heroes  took  advantage  of  this  confusion, 
and  after  firing  a  few  rounds,  rushed  with  the  hur- 
rah  through  the  gates.  This  charge  sufficed :  a 
hundred  and  twenty  of  these  young  Poles,  after  hav- 
ing killed  forty  or  fifty  men  with  ball  and  bayonet, 
dispersed  some  eighteen  hundred  Russian  cavalry. 
Cuirasseurs,  hulans  and  hussars  mingled  together, 
joined  in  the  cry  of  terror,  and  began  to  seek  con- 
cealment in  garrets,  stables,  cellars,  &c.  A  great 
number  were  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  the 
canal  in  order  to  escape  into  the  adjoining  gardens. 
As  the  barracks  were  closely  connected  with  wood- 
en buildings  filled  with  hay,  straw,  and  other  com- 
bustible articles,  not  a  man  would  have  escaped  had 
they  been  fired.  The  young  Poles  refrained  from 
this,  in  mercy.  The  Russians  might  all  have  been 
made  prisoners  ;  for  so  great  was  their  panic  that 
they  were  not  ashamed  to  beg  for  quarter  on  their 


34  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

knees.  But  these  advantages  were,  for  the  time, 
neglected.  The  cadets  abandoned  the  attack,  and 
hastened  into  the  city,  where  their  presence  was 
more  necessary. 

While  their  comrades  were  attacking  the  bar- 
racks, some  ten  or  twelve  students  traversed  the 
gardens  towards  the  palace  of  the  Grand  Duke 
(called  the  Belvidere)  in  order  to  secure  his  per- 
son.* Some  of  them  guarded  the  passages  on  the 
side  of  the  gardens,  while  others  penetrated  to  the 
tyrant's  apartment.  But  he  had  escaped  through 
a  secret  door. 

On  the  failure  of  the  party  of  cadets  sent  to  se- 
cure the  person  of  the  Grand  Duke,  they  left  his 
apartments  without  in  the  least  disturbing  the  re- 
pose of  his  lady.  As  they  reached  the  foot  of  the 
stairs,  they  met  Lubowicki,  the  vice-president  of 
the  city,  coming  to  the  Grand  Duke  for  instruc- 
tions. As  soon  as  he  saw  them,  he  began  to  cry 
for  aid,  but  the  next  moment  fell  on  his  knees  and 

*  The  enemies  of  our  country  have  endeavored  to  per- 
suade the  world  that  this  party  was  sent  to  take  the  Grand 
Duke's  life.  It  is  an  infamous  calumny.  The  order  to 
seize  the  Grand  Duke,  was  given  with  the  noblest  intention  ; 
—  to  secure  him  from  the  dangers  attendant  on  a  revolu- 
tion, and  to  prevent  farther  bloodshed  by  his  captivity. 
The  Poles  magnanimously  intended  to  requite  his  long  con- 
tinued cruelty  with  the  kindest  treatment.  He  would  have 
been  placed  in  safety,  and  supplied  with  all  the  comforts  of 
life  in  the  palace  of  Bruhl,  which  was  expressly  named  for 
the  place  of  his  abode.  The  persons  sent  to  seize  him  were 
selected  for  their  habitual  moderation  and  self-restraint. 
By  his  flight,  Constantine  accused  himself.  The  just  man 
fears  nothing ;  the  guilty  conscience  anticipates  danger. 
The  Grand  Duke  injured  himself  as  well  as  our  cause  by 
his  flight.     His  melancholy  end  is  well  known. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  35 

begged  for  his  life.  They  took  him  with  them, 
intending  to  extract  from  him  all  the  information 
he  was  able  to  give.  In  the  court-yard  they  met 
the  Russian  general,  Gendre,*  aid-de-camp  of  the 
Grand  Duke,  with  some  ten  or  twelve  armed  men. 
They  resolutely  attacked  him.  Gendre  fell  under 
their  bayonets,  and  his  followers  fled.  The  party 
meeting  with  no  farther  obstacles,  returned  to  their 
friends,  whom  they  found  at  the  bridge  of  Sobieski. 
The  company  of  cadets,  after  having  finished 
their  attack  upon  the  barracks  of  the  Russian  cav- 
alry, marched  along  the  high  road  which  traverses 
the  Park,  over  the  bridge  of  Sobieski,  towards  the 
main  avenue  between  the  terraces  of  the  hospital 
Ujasdow  on  one  side,  and  those  of  the  Botanical 
Garden  on  the  other.  After  having  arrived  at  this 
bridge,  they  heard  the  noise  of  horses  in  front,  as 
of  cavalry  advancing.  It  was  in  fact  a  company 
of  Russian  cuirasseurs,  w^ho  were  on  guard  in  this 
part  of  the  park,  and  who  were  now  hastening  to 

*  Gendre  was  one  of  the  Russian  generals,  who  was 
among  the  chief  spies.  He  was  dismissed  by  the  deceased 
emperor,  Alexander,  on  account  of  impositions  and  even 
accusations  of  theft,  nor  was  he  allowed  to  show  himself  in 
Petersburgh  during  the  life-time  of  Alexander.  He  arrived, 
in  1829,  in  Warsaw,  when  it  was  the  pleasure  of  Constan- 
tine  to  associate  and  surround  himself  with  the  outcasts  of 
society  ;  and  he  made  him  his  master  of  horse,  and  after- 
wards general  and  aid-de-camp.  The  swindling  of  this 
general  and  his  wife,  in  Warsaw,  surpassed  all  imagination. 
They  cheated  and  robbed  the  noblemen,  the  merchants,  the 
Jews,  and  their  own  master,  the  Grand  Duke.  According 
to  the  accounts  found  during  the  revolution,  their  debts,  in 
gaming  and  otherwise,  amounted  to  more  than  a  million  of 
Polish  gilders. 


36  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

save  the  barracks.  Immediately  a  plan  was  formed 
to  receive  them.  The  cadets,  forming  in  a  line, 
concealed  themselves  in  the  Park  near  the  street. 
The  cuirassem's  came  up  ;  they  were  permitted  to 
advance,  and  were  then  received  with  a  brisk  fire. 
The  heavy  cavalry,  who  could  not  turn  in  this  nar- 
row road,  suffered  severely.  Sixty  bodies  were 
found  on  the  spot.  The  rest  fled  in  the  greatest 
disorder.  From  this  bridge,  that  handful  of  brave 
young  men  passed  the  street  of  Wieyska,  and, 
after  arriving  at  the  barracks  of  Radziwil,  they 
met  a  squadron  of  Russian  hussars  returning  from 
a  patrol.  At  the  same  time  they  heard  the  Rus- 
sian cavalry  in  pursuit,  who  had  gained  time  to 
mount  at  their  barracks.  This  was  a  critical  mo- 
ment, but  it  was  met  with  resolution.  One  half 
threw  themselves  into  the  ditch  in  order  to  receive 
the  hussars ;  and  the  others  formed  a  platoon,  and 
with  hurrahs  and  the  shout  of  '  Poland  forever !' 
discharged  their  pieces  and  attacked  the  cuiras- 
seurs  in  their  rear,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
The  Russians  were  thrown  into  disorder,  and  fled 
with  the  greatest  precipitaion,  leaving  many  dead 
behind  them. 

The  cadets,  not  having  lost  a  single  man  in  all 
these  skirmishes,  arrived  at  the  part  of  the  city 
called  the  Nowy-Swiat,  (or  the  New  World,)  and 
the  Trzy  Zlote  Krzyze,  (the  Three  Golden  Cros- 
ses.) Here  they  found  two  companies  of  Polish 
light  infantry,  and  with  them  the  two  Polish  gene- 
rals, Stanislaus  Potocki  and  Trembicki,  who  were 


•^ 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  37 

giving  commands  for  restoring  order  by  force,  and 
for  arresting  the  assembled  inhabitants.  The  com- 
pany of  cadets  arrived,  and  hailed  the  light  infan- 
try with  the  following  words  :  — '  Brothers  !  Are 
you  here  to  shed  the  blood  of  your  brethren  ? 
Have  you  forgotten  the  Russian  tyranny  ?  Come 
to  our  embrace,  and  hand  to  hand  let  us  attack 
the  tyrants.  Poland  forever  !'  This  address  was 
enough.  They  disobeyed  the  commands  of  their 
unworthy  generals,  and  joined  the  cadets  and  the 
populace.  When  the  two  generals  had  the  mad- 
ness to  reproach  the  soldiers,  some  of  the  cadets 
went  to  them  and  told  them  in  a  few  words  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  on  their  knees  and  with  tears 
intreated  them  not  to  forsake  the  cause  of  their 
country.  To  Stanislaus  Potocki  the  command  of 
the  army  was  offered.  At  the  same  time  they 
were  both  warned  of  the  fatal  consequences  of 
their  refusal.  It  was  of  no  avail.  These  infatu- 
ated men  could  not  see  the  justice  of  the  cause, 
and  began  to  insult  the  students.  Upon  this  the 
cadets  left  them,  and  they  fell  victims  to  the  indig- 
nation of  the  populace.*     In  this  place  some  gens 

*  Every  Pole  lamented  the  melancholy  fate  of  Stanislaus 
Potocki.  He  was  one  of  the  most  honest  of  men,  and  be- 
loved by  the  army  and  the  whole  nation.  He  always  kept 
aloof  from  all  familiar  intercourse  with  the  Russians,  and 
his  house  was  a  true  Polish  dwelling.  He  had  always  scorn- 
ed Russian  protection ;  and,  to  every  patriot,  the  end  of 
this  man,  who  had  become  gray  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try, is  a  sad  recollection.  Yet  every  one  must  confess  his 
death  was  just,  and  cannot  be  a  reproach  to  his  countrymen, 
since  he  listened  neither  to  the  advice  nor  the  intreaties  of 


38  THE    POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

d'armes  who  undertook  to  disperse  the  citizens, 
were  killed.  After  the  union  with  the  two  com- 
panies of  light  infantry,  it  was  decided  they  should 
both  march  to  the  street  of  Szulec,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Vistula,  endeavor  there  to  assemble 
the  citizens,  and  establish  a  degree  of  order,  and 
after  that  to  take  possession  of  the  bridge,  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  the  necessary  communica- 
tions between  Praga  and  Warsaw  during  the  night, 
and  to  defend  it  to  the  last  against  any  attack  of 
the  enemy. 

The  cadets  marched  directly  into  the  city  through 
the  Nowy-Swiat,  singing  patriotic  songs  and  shout- 
ing *  Poland  forever !'  Every  where  the  citizens 
answered  their  shouts  with  the  greatest  enthusi- 
asm, and  joined  the  ranks  of  those  brave  youths. 
Both  old  and  young  men,  and  even  women,  left 
their  dwellings  in  order  to  increase  the  numbers  of 
the  liberators  of  their  country.  In  their  passage 
through  that  street  this  company  made  prisoners  of 
many  Russian  generals,  officers,  &c,  who  were  on 
their  flight.  After  advancing  as  far  as  the  palace 
of  the  Vice-roy  they  met  the  Polish  general  Hauke, 
and  colonel  Mieciszewski.  These  worthless  men, 
accompanied  by  some  gens  d'armes,  were  on  their 
way  to  the  Grand  Duke  in  the  Belvidere.  Some 
cadets  stepped  in  their  way,  and  exhorted  them  to 

his. brethren,  and  thus  publicly  avowed  his  adherence  to  the 
cause  of  despotism.  —  As  to  General  Trembizki,  he  had  al- 
ways been  a  creature  of  the  Russians,  and  a  proud  and  mis- 
chieyoui  man. 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  S9 

dismount  and  surrender  themselves.  Instead  of 
answering,  general  Hauke  drew  a  pistol  and 
w^ounded  one  of  them,  which  act  cost  him  and  his 
companion  their  lives.* 

In  the  same  manner  general  Siemiontkowski, 
with  some  gens  d'armes  and  soldiers,  endeavored 
to  disperse  and  arrest  the  citizens  assembled  in  the 
Saxon-platz.  He  likewise  was  a  Russian  instru- 
ment, and  was  hated  by  the  nation. 

Whilst  this  company  of  cadets  was  engaged  in 
the  south  part  of  the  city,  the  4th  regiment,  a  bat- 
talion of  which  had  mounted  guard,  were  active  in 
another  quarter.  This  regiment,  as  soon  as  the 
signals  were  given,  revolted.  The  battalion  on 
guard  beat  the  alarm-drum  at  every  guard-house, 
and  the  two  other  battalions  formed  for  the  attack 
of  the  Russian  infantry  in  their  barracks  called  the 
barracks  of  Sapieha.     The  shouts  of  the  soldiers 

*  The  early  part  of  the  career  of  general  Hauke  was  not 
without  merit,  but  it  was  tarnished  by  his  later  conduct.  He 
was  born  in  Germany,  and  came  to  Poland,  under  the  reign 
of  Stanislaus,  as  a  poor  mechanic.  After  leaving  his  trade 
he  was  enrolled  in  the  army,  and  advanced  rapidly  in  the 
revolutionary  war  under  Kosciusko,  in  which  he  distinguish- 
ed himself  by  military  skill.  In  the  wars  under  Napoleon 
he  defended  the  fortress  of  Zamosc  with  great  valor.  But, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Russian  sway  and  the  arrival  ojf 
the  Grand  Duke  at  Warsaw,  this  man  became  one  of  his 
chief  minions,  and  by  fawning  and  intrigue  obtained  the 
post  of  Minister  of  War.  In  the  same  year  he  was  raised 
to  the  nobility,  and  was  made  count,  senator,  and  wayewode. 
In  the  whole  history  of  Poland  the  rapidity  of  this  advance- 
ment is  unexampled.  Hauke  received  these  dignities  as  a 
reward  for  his  oppression  of  his  inferiors,  and  for  acts  of 
injustice  of  every  kind.  As  for  Mieciszewski,  he  had  al- 
ways been  a  villain. 


40  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

and  citizens  advancing  to  the  attack  mingled  with 
the  noise  of  the  drums  on  every  side.  A  great 
number  of  Russian  general  officers  and  spies  w^ere 
taken  in  their  flight,  in  the  street  of  the  Little 
Theatre,  and  the  street  of  Napoleon. 

As  soon  as  the  numbers  assembled  would  admit 
of  it,  divisions  were  detached  to  liberate  the  pris- 
oners, especially  those  in  the  Franciscan  and  Car- 
melite prisons.  These  prisons,  always  guarded  by 
Russian  troops,  were  stormed.  The  Russian  sol- 
diers were  driven  in,  and  a  massacre  commenced 
in  the  corridors,  where  a  great  number  of  them  fell 
by  the  bayonet,  together  with  many  police  officers 
and  turnkeys.  The  doors  were  broken  down  — 
and  an  indescribable  scene  took  place,  when  the 
victims,  already  sentenced,  perhaps,  to  death,  or 
reserved  for  tortures,  were  set  at  liberty.  With 
tears  in  their  eyes,  they  fell  into  the  arms  of  their 
deliverers.  Here,  a  father  found  a  son —  there,  a 
son  a  father.  Many  of  the  emaciated  captives 
could  only  creep  to  meet  the  embraces  of  their 
brethren.  But  what  was  most  shocking,  was  the 
appearance  of  four  ladies  who  had  been  incarcer- 
ated for  having  resisted  the  brutal  advances  of  cer- 
tain Russian  generals.  They  were  reduced  to 
mere  skeletons.  There  was  not  one  of  the  spec- 
tators who  did  not  shudder  and  weep  at  the  sight i 
and  swear  to  avenge  them.  A  hundred  and  sev- 
enty students,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  older  persons, 
Polish  soldiers  and  citizens,  all  innocent  victims  of 
the  system  of  espionage,  were  rescued  from  these 
two  prisons. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  41 

The  above  mentioned  battalions  of  the  4th  and 
the  battalion  of  sappers  marched  to  attack  the 
Russian  infantry  in  the  barracks  of  Alexander  and 
Stanislaus.  On  their  arrival  there,  they  found 
some  companies  under  arms,,  and  summoned  them 
to  surrender.  Instead  of  complying,  they  began 
to  fire,  and  our  soldiers  fell  instantly  upon  them, 
w^ith  the  '  hurrah.'  They  w^ere  dispersed  in  a 
moment,  and  many  officers  and  soldiers  vrere  made 
prisoners.  So  panic  struck  w^ere  many  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Russian  guard  that  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  creep  head-foremost  into  the  cellars,  whence 
they  were  dragged  out  by  the  legs.  The  Russians 
fled  from  the  barracks  and  the  city  in  the  utmost 
disorder,  and  took  refuge  beyond  the  Powonzki 
barrier. 

After  all  these  successes,  the  northern,  eastern, 
and  western  parts  of  the  city  were  occupied,  at  about 
noon,  by  divisions  of  patriot  soldiers  and  citizens. 

A  small  part  of  the  south  side  of  the  city  only 
was  now  in  possession  of  the  enemy's  cavalry, 
who  had  at  last  left  their  barracks.  A  few  houses 
opposite  the  Lottery  Buildings  were  set  on  fire,  as 
a  signal  for  assembling.  Strong  patrols  were  sent 
to  the  western  part  of  the  city,  and  by  them  all 
the  public  treasures  and  the  bank  were  secured. 
One  of  these  parties,  composed  of  sappers,  met 
the  Russian  colonel,  Sass,*  in  his  flight.  As  he 
did  not  stop  at  their  challenge,  he  was  shot. 

♦  This  bad  man  was  one  of  the  principal  instruments  of 
our  oppressors.     He  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  spies,  and 


42  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTIOiN. 

When  the  city  had  been  nearly  freed  of  the 
Russians,  great  multitudes  hastened  to  the  arsenal 
for  arms  and  ammunition.  Here  they  found  the 
Polish  general  Blummer,  who  was  rash  enough  to 
resist.  He  ordered  his  soldiers  to  fire  on  the  peo- 
ple, but  they  'refused  to  obey,  and  joined  their 
brethren.  This  general  was  slain,  —  a  just  punish- 
ment for  his  murderous  intentions.  All  the  apart- 
ments were  immediately  opened,  and  more  than 
.  80,000  muskets,  pistols,  sabres,  and  carbines  were 
obtained.  They  were  distributed  with  admirable 
good  order. 

The  people,  being  now  armed,  were  arrayed  in 
divisions,  under  different  commanders,  and  sent  to 
various  parts  of  the  city.  Parties  were  appointed 
to  patrol  the  streets  and  arrest  all  spies*  and  Rus- 

his  particular  business  was  to  observe  all  foreigners  coming 
to  Warsaw.  He  invited  them  to  his  house  to  ascertain  their 
characters,  and  was  assisted  at  his  soirees  in  his  base  designs, 
by  the  female  spies.  Under  the  show  of  the  utmost  cor- 
diality, by  presents,  and  by  means  of  love  affairs,  he  was 
wont  to  endeavor  to  draw  them  to  the  Russian  inter- 
est, in  order  to  use  them  as  spies  in  their  own  countries. 
He  often  succeeded,  and  several  foreigners  might  be  named, 
who  came  to  Warsaw  on  the  most  innocent  business  or  to 
gratify  their  curiosity,  but  who,  after  having  frequented  the 
parties  of  Sass,  and  handled  Russian  gold,  returned  to  their 
own  country  to  betray  it.  Such  are  the  means  by  which 
Russia  steals  ^deeper  and  deeper  into  the  heart  of  Europe. 

*  The  chief  of  spies,  general  Rozniecki,  escaped.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  vicious  characters  imaginable  :  his 
crimes  surpass  expression.  He  was  the  oldest  general  in 
the  Polish  army,  in  which  he  had  served  forty  years.  He 
entered  the  service  under  king  Stanislaus.  Under  Napo- 
leon he  commanded  a  brigade,  and  subsequently  a  division 
of  cavalry.     Of  his  character,  while  in  the  service  of  Na- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  43 

sian  officers  who  might  attempt  to  fly.  They 
arrested  upwards  of  three  hmidred.  One  of  these 
patrols  went  to  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  spies, 
Macrot,  to  seize  his  person  and  papers.     This  man 

poleon,  not  much  is  known.  Under  the  government  of 
Russia,  this  man,  ah'eady  sixty  years  old,  degraded  himself 
irredeemably  by  becoming  one  of  the  most  atrocious  and 
detestable  tools  of  tyranny.  A  volume  might  be  filled  with 
the  history  of  his  intrigues,  swindlings,  and  other  crimes. 
As  chief  of  the  secret  police,  he  had  under  him  many  agents 
whom  he  sent  throughout  the  land  to  extort  money  for  him 
on  unjust  pretences.  Wo  to  the  unhappy  man  who  refused 
compliance  with  any  of  his  demands !  He  was  sure  to  find 
his  fate  in  a  prison.  In  the  army,  those  who  bribed  him  were 
promoted.  Rozniecki  was  the  intimate  friend  of  the  Grand 
Duke.  The  following  anecdote  may  serve  to  give  the  reader 
some  idea  of  his  consummate  art  in  fraud. 

It  was  a  part  of  Rozniecki's  business  to  pay  the  spies,  and 
they  received  their  salaries  at  his  house.  He  divided  the 
delators  into  several  classes,  and  rewarded  them  according 
to  the  quickness  and  importance  of  their  information.  By 
his  arrangement  of  this  business  he  cheated  the  very  spies  ! 
In  the  room  where  he  received  their  denunciations  he  had  a 
chest  of  drawers  placed,  behind  which  a  clerk  was  conceal- 
ed. This  clerk  wrote  down  their  reports  as  he  heard  them, 
taking  care  to  date  them  somewhat  earlier.  When  the  spy 
had  ended  his  story  and  applied  for  his  reward,  Rozniecki 
would  declare  that  he  recollected  having  heard  the  whole 
affair  the  day  before.  He  would  then  leave  the  room  and 
return  with  the  forged  record.  Thus  would  he  defraud  the 
spy  of  his  shameful  earnings.  Accounts  of  immense  sums 
received  by  him  were  found  in  his  house  during  the  revolu- 
tion. He  was  more  than  once  accused  of  murder  by  poison, 
and  other  enormous  crimes,  but  the  proceedings  against  him 
were  suppressed.  On  the  first  evening  of  the  revolution 
this  man  happened  to  be  in  an  assembly  of  spies  in  the  City 
Hall.  He  was  there  to  give  his  instructions.  On  hearing 
the  tumult,  his  conscience  smote  him,  and  he  stole  away 
without  saying  a  word.  Finding  a  coach  at  hand,  he  offer- 
ed the  coachman  money  to  permit  him  to  drive  himself 
Tf  hither  he  pleased.  He  made  his  escape  in  the  coachman's 
cloak.  His  effigy  was  exhibited  on  the  gallows  seven  days, 
decorated  with  a  dozen  Russian  orders. 


44  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

had  hid  himself  in  the  cellar,  with  some  of  his 
satellites,  and  fired  upon  the  patrol.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  Macrot  and  his  people  were  mas- 
sacred. 

Toward  two  in  the  morning,  the  quiet  of  the 
city  was  restored.  Most  of  the  patriots  assembled 
in  the  Ulica  Dluga,  (or  Long  Street,)  to  consult 
on  the  measures  to  be  adopted  on  the  following 
day,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  nation  should 
be  addressed  by  the  patriotic  party.  They  called 
to  memory  the  cruelties  of  the  Russian  government, 
and  urged  the  necessity  of  a  revolution  to  prevent 
the  decay  of  all  moral  and  national  feeling.  They 
implored  the  people  to  aid  in  this  holy  cause,  yet 
at  the  same  time  besought  them  never  to  violate 
the  dictates  of  humanity.  '  Dear  brethren,'  they 
said,  *  let  no  one  have  a  right  to  accuse  us  of  cru- 
elty. May  the  sanctity  of  our  cause  never  be 
polluted  by  barbarious  passions.  Having  a  single 
end  in  view,  national  freedom,  and  justice,  may 
we  prove  lions  in  battle,  mild  and  indulgent  to 
defenceless  foes,  and  repentant  apostates.  Breth- 
ren, let  unity,  love  and  friendship  be  ours  !  Let 
us  forget  private  rancor  and  selfish  interest ;  Chil- 
dren of  one  mother,  our  dear  Poland  —  let  us  save 
her  from  ruin !' 

These  addresses  were  received  by  the  people 
with  the  most  fervent  enthusiasm,  and  with  cries 
of  '  Poland  forever  !'  They  swore  to  fight  for  her 
while  a  drop  flowed  in  their  hearts,  and  never  to 
forsake  the  field  of  valor   or  the  path  of  virtue. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  45 

The  assembled  multitude  then  knelt  down  before 
the  Almighty,  to  thank  him  for  a  deliverance  ac- 
complished with  so  little  bloodshed,  and  to  im- 
plore a  continuation  of  his  mercies.  It  was  a  scene 
which  no  description  can  equal.  In  the  depth  of 
the  night  the  immense  crowds  of  people  kneeling, 
their  figures  illuminated  by  the  glare  of  the  fires 
lighted  in  the  streets,  praying  to  God  their  deliver- 
er, presented  a  sight  to  have  touched  even  tyrants, 
could  they  have  witnessed  it. 

When  prayers  were  over,  plans  were  adopted 
for  the  defence  of  the  city.  Some  of  the  barriers 
were  barricaded,  and  fortified  with  cannon.  Offi- 
cers were  sent  to  Praga  with  detachments  to  rein- 
force the  garrison  at  the  bridge.  Wagons  were 
also  sent  to  Praga  for  ammunition. 

As  the  detachments  approached  the  bridge,  they 
perceived  that  their  way  was  obstructed  by  a 
body  of  Russian  cavalry.  This  cavalry  were  not 
aware  of  the  presence  of  the  two  companies  of 
light  infantry  who  had  been  sent  thither  by  the 
patriots.  As  the  cavalry  advanced  upon  the  bridge 
the  light  infantry  gave  them  a  volley  and  charged. 
At  the  same  time  the  detachments  fell  on  from  the 
Border  Street,  and  compelled  them  to  retire  with 
severe  loss.  Some  companies  formed  by  the  pop- 
ulace, had  already  taken  possession  of  Praga,  and 
all  was  quiet.  Many  wagon  loads  of  cartridges, 
balls,  and  barrels  of  powder,  were  taken  from  the 
magazine  to  Warsaw  before  morning. 

These  are  the  details  of  the  first  night  of  our 
6 


46  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

revolution.  The  order  w^hich  prevailed  in  all  these 
tumults  and  during  the  fight,  was  truly  admirable. 
The  foreigners  then  in  Warsaw  declared  that  they 
could  not  enough  praise  the  behavior  of  the  troops 
and  populace  in  the  very  height  of  a  revolution. 
The  utmost  forbearance  was  evinced  toward  per- 
sons and  property.  No  individual  was  slain  or 
abused  without  provocation,  nor  was  any  house  or 
store  entered  without  the  consent  of  the  owner. 
From  the  open  windows  of  many  houses  even  ladies 
witnessed  our  deeds,  and  waved  their  handker- 
chiefs, without  fear  of  danger  or  insult.  They 
were  quiet  and  delighted  spectators  of  the  crowds, 
who,  after  expelling  the  Russians,  moved  through 
the  streets  in  perfect  order,  shouting  songs  of  joy. 
These  were  moments  in  which  the  heart  of  every 
good  patriot  rejoiced,  and  traitors  alone  hid  their 
heads. 


CHAPTER    III. 

The  First  Dav. — Expulsion  of  the  Russians  from  Warsaw. — Choice 
of  Chlopicki  as  Commander  in  Chief. — Provisional  Government  un- 
der the  Presidency  of  Prince  Adam  Czartoriski. — Deputation  sent  to 
the  Grand  Duke. — Propositions  and  answer. — Abolition  of  the  Bureau 
of  Police. — Establishment  of  the  National  Guard. — Proclamations  ad- 
dressed to  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces  and  the  distant  troops. — 
Provision  for  the  Russian  prisoners. — The  Academical  Legions  form- 
ed.— Arrival  of  detachments  from  the  provinces. — The  Grand  Duke 
consents  to  leave  the  kingdom,  and  addresses  a  proclamation  to  the 
Poles. 

The  FIRST  DAY  of  freedom,  after  so  many  years  of 
oppression,  was  hailed  with  shouts  of  '  Our  coun- 
try !  Poland  forever  !'  At  about  six  in  the  morn- 
ing the  drums  beat  for  the  assembly  of  the  troops 
in  all  the  parts  of  the  city  in  our  possession. 
Crowds  flocked  from  all  sides  to  the  public  places. 
It  was  a  scene  never  equalled.  The  whole  people 
assembled,  without  distinction  of  rank,  age,  or  sex. 
Old  men  who  were  past  the  use  of  swords,  bran- 
dished their  sticks  and  crutches,  and  recalled  the 
times  of  Kosciusko.  Clergymen,  civil  officers, 
foreigners,  Jews,  even  women  and  children  armed 
with  pistols,  mingled  in  the  ranks. 

The  multitude,  thus  assembled,  marched  to  the 
northern  and  southern  parts  of  the  city,  to  drive 
the  Russians  out.  The  fourth  regiment  and  a 
body  of  the  inhabitants  marched  into  the  northern 
quarter  of  Warsaw,  to  attack  two  regiments  of  in- 
fantry who  occupied  the  Champ  de  Mars  and  the 
whole  district  thence  to  the  barrier  of  Powazko. 
This  division  had  with  them  two  small  pieces  of 


48  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

cannon.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  pomt  of 
attack  they  fired  a  few  rounds,  raised  the  '  hurrah,' 
and  threw  themselves  upon  the  Russians,  who 
made  no  resistance,  but  fled  in  disorder  beyond 
the  barrier  above  mentioned,  where  the  pursuit 
ceased. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  battalion  of  sappers  had 
marched  through  the  suburb  of  Cracow  and  the 
street  of  Wirzbwa  to  the  southern  part  of  the  city. 
They  met  the  enemy's  cavalry,  at  the  Place  of 
Saxony,  a  short  distance  from  the  Church  of  the 
Cross.  The  Russians  discharged  their  carbines, 
and  a  brisk  fire  was  kept  up  until  the  cry  to  cease 
firing  and  attack  with  the  bayonet  was  heard  on 
all  sides.  They  gave  way  before  the  charge,  and 
fled  in  the  greatest  confusion,  as  the  infantry  had 
done  before  them.  They  were  pursued  beyond 
the  barriers  of  Mokotow.  The  whole  city  was 
cleared  of  the  Russians  before  nine  o'clock.  The 
walls  opposite  the  Russian  troops  were  manned  by 
soldiers  and  armed  citizens. 

While  this  expulsion  was  being  effected,  some 
of  the  patriots  were  employed  in  the  city  in  choos- 
ing a  military  chief.  They  agreed  to  offer  the 
command  to  Chlopicki.* 

*  General  Chlopicki,  a  man  of  rare  merit,  began  his 
career  in  the  struggle  for  liberty  under  Kosciusko.  In 
1807,  he  was  colonel  commandant  of  the  first  regiment  of 
the  legion  of  the  Vistula,  under  Napoleon.  He  had  the 
command  of  a  brigade,  and  afterwards  of  a  division,  of  the 
same  legion  in  Spain.  This  general  distinguished  himself 
at  the  storming  of  Saragossa,  where  the  Poles  performed 
prodigies  of  valor,  as  well  as  at  the  battle  of  Saginta.     Un- 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  49 

Towards  eleven,  General  Chlopicki  was  led  by 
the  people,  with  acclamations,  to  the  hotel  of  the 
Minister  of  Finance,  where  many  senators  and 
other  persons  were  assembled  to  take  measures 
respecting  a  provisional  government,  the  security 
of  public  order,  &c.  Chlopicki  was  received  with 
acclamations  by  the  chiefs  of  the  nation  ;  and  after 
all  had  declared  their  consent,  he  was  proclaimed 
Commander  in  Chief.  He  was  addressed  on  this 
occasion  by  Professor  Lelewell,  one  of  the  patriots, 
who,  after  drawing  the  picture  of  our  past  suffer- 
ings, and  comparing  it  with  our  hopes  of  the  future, 
concluded  with  the  following  words,  addressed 
directly  to  Chlopicki.  '  Brother  —  take  the  sword 
of  jour  ancestors  and  predecessors,  Czarnecki, 
Dombrowski,  and  Kosciusko.  Guide  the  nation 
that  has  placed  its  trust  in  you,  in  the  way  of 
honor.  Save  this  unhappy  country.'  This  cere- 
mony concluded,  Chlopicki  was  shown  to  the 
assembled  people  from  the  balcony.  They  received 
him  with  shouts  of '  Our  country  and  our  liberator 
Chlopicki    forever !'     Many     cried,     '  Chlopicki, 

der  the  Russian  government  of  Constantine,  Chlopicki  left 
the  army,  not  being  able  to  endure  his  commander's  brutal 
deportment.  The  Grand  Duke  censured  the  general  on 
parade,  in  an  unbecoming  manner,  saying  that  his  division 
was  not  in  order.  Chlopicki  replied,  '  I  did  not  gain  my 
rank  on  the  parade  ground,  nor  did  I  receive  my  decora- 
tions there.'  He  asked  his  discharge  the  next  day.  In 
later  times  the  emperor  Alexander  and  the  Grand  Duke 
himself  endeavored  to  induce  him  to  return  to  the  service, 
but  Chlopicki  never  consented.  He  preferred  a  retired  life 
to  the  splendor  of  Russian  slavery.  This  gained  him  the 
esteem  of  the  w^hole  nation. 


50  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION, 

rely  on  us,  and  lead  us  to  Lithuania  !'  The  gen- 
eral thanked  them  for  their  confidence  in  him, 
promised  never  to  abuse  it,  and  swore  that  he 
would  defend  the  liberty  of  Poland  to  the  last 
moment. 

The  patriots  now  proceeded  to  choose  members 
of  the  provisional  government.  Prince  Adam 
Czartoriski,*  Radzivil,t  Niemcewicz,  and  Lelewell 

*  Prince  Adam  Czartoriski  was  born  on  the  14th  of  June, 
1770.  He  is  the  oldest  son  of  Prince  Casimir  Czartoriski, 
Palatine  of  Russia,  and  Princess  EHzabeth  Fleming,  daugh- 
ter of  Count  George  Fleming,  first  treasurer  of  Lithuania 
and  Palatine  of  Pomerania.  The  Czartoriski  family  are 
descended  from  the  Gedamines,  who  reigned  over  Lithuania 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  a  descendant  of  whom,  Jagelon, 
reigned  long  and  gloriously  in  Poland.  At  the  last  parti- 
tion of  Poland,  Adam  Czartoriski  and  his  brother  Constan- 
tine  were  sent  to  St  Petersburgh  as  hostages.  While  re- 
siding in  the  Russian  capital,  Prince  Adam  was  on  terms  of 
friendly  intimacy  with  the  Grand  Duke  Alexander.  This 
friendship  influenced,  perhaps,  his  political  career.  He  was 
sent  as  an  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Sardinia,  and  when 
Alexander  ascended  the  throne,  he  was  recalled,  and  en- 
trusted with  the  portfolio  of  foreign  affairs.  He  declined 
this  charge  for  a  long  time,  and  at  last  accepted  it  at  the 
earnest  entreaty  of  Alexander,  on  condition  that  he  should 
be  allowed  to  retire  as  soon  as  the  discharge  of  his  official 
duties  should  militate  against  the  interests  of  his  country. 
At  the  same  time,  he  was  appointed  Curator  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Wilna,  and  yet  another  important  duty  devolved  on 
him,  which  was  the  establishment  of  schools  in  all  the  Rus- 

t  Prince  Michael  Radzivil  was  born  in  Lithuania,  on  his 
family  estate  called  Nieswiez.  He  is  nephew  of  Prince 
Anthony  Radzivil,  governor-general  of  the  grand  duchy  of 
Posen,  and  brother-in-law  of  the  king  of  Prussia.  This 
prince  was  commander  of  a  brigade  in  the  time  of  Napo- 
leon, and  distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  Dantzic. 
He  retired  from  service  under  the  Russian  government,  and 
lived  privately  in  Warsaw.  He  was  a  man  of  quiet  charac- 
ter, and  a  sincere  patriot,  but  not  of  eminent  military 
talents. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  51 

were  elected,  and  one  of  the  old  ministers,  Lu- 
becki,  was  retained  to  assist  them.     This  arrange- 

sian  provinces  of  Poland.  Though  the  Russians  cannot  see 
a  Pole  in  so  honorable  a  station  without  jealousy,  the  con- 
duct of  Prince  Adam  was  so  noble  as  to  win  the  hearts  of 
all.  He  did  not  surround  himself  with  parasites  ;  his  course 
was  plain  and  upright,  and  he  scorned  the  idea  of  receiving 
rewards  from  government.  He  would  not  even  accept  a 
salary. 

In  1808,  Czartoriski  resigned  his  ministerial  office,  but 
retained  his  place  over  the  university,  hoping  to  do  more 
good  in  it.  He  increased  the  number  of  elementary  schools 
and  those  of  all  classes  of  instruction.  He  reformed  the 
antiquated  institutions  of  the  university,  and  gave  the  whole 
course  of  instruction  a  more  simple  and  convenient  form, 
which  was  also  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  middle 
classes  of  the  people.  By  these  means  he  hoped  to  devel- 
ope  and  elevate  the  national  character,  in  these  classes. 

The  events  of  1812  showed  but  too  plainly  that  the  mis- 
fortunes which  then  befell  France  was  owing  to  the  same 
cause  to  which  the  previous  distress  of  Russia  was  attribu- 
table ;  viz.  the  non-existence  of  Poland.  If  Poland  had  re- 
mained independent  in  her  original  extent,  the  two  gigantic 
powers  could  not  have  come  in  contact,  and  the  equilibrium 
of  Europe,  now  entirely  lost,  would  have  been  preserved. 
It  was,  then,  a  true  and  necessary  policy  to  bring  forward 
the  question  of  the  independence  of  Poland  again.  This 
was  the  object  Prince  Adam  Czartoriski  kept  in  view  during 
the  war  between  France  and  Russia,  and  it  was  in  the  hope 
of  effecting  it  that  he  accompanied  Alexander  to  Paris  in 
1814.  He  was  not  anxious  without  reason.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  satisfied  him,  in  part,  and  proposed  to  the  Con- 
gress of  Vienna  to  erect  the  grand  duchy  of  Poland  into  a 
Kingdom.  This  kingdom  received  a  constitution  and  sev- 
eral other  national  institutions.  An  entire  freedom  of  trade 
with  the  remaining  Polish  provinces  under  Russia,  Austria, 
and  Prussia,  was  assured  to  it.  All  these  promises  were 
published  and  confirmed  by  Alexander  at  Warsaw  in  1816. 
Yet,  in  the  very  act  of  confirmation,  several  privileges  which 
the  Emperor  had  promised  to  Czartoriski  were  retracted ; 
and  this  was  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  other  powers, 
and  the  principles  of  the  Holy  Alliance.  Russian  policy 
made  these  restrictions  more  and  more  sensibly  felt,  and 


52  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

ment    was  made  public  about  noon,  in  order   to 
tranquilize  the  people. 

unfortunate  Poland  beheld,  one  after  another,  the  institu- 
tions so  solemnly  guarantied  to  her,  vanishing  away. 

Indignant  at  these  breaches  of  promise  on  the  part  of 
Russia,  Prince  Czartoriski  resigned  the  Curatorship  of  the 
university  of  Wilna,  in  1824,  in  which  he  had  been  the 
means  of  effecting  much  good,  particularly  in  the  cause  of 
patriotism  and  liberty;  and  in  order  to  free  himself  from  all 
connection  with  the  intriguing  cabinet  of  Russia,  he  went, 
with  his  whole  family,  on  a  journey  to  foreign  countries. 

This  prince  was  proprietor  of  the  beautiful  town  of  Pula- 
wa,  which  Nature  and  Art  have  united  to  make  one  of  the 
finest  in  Europe.  The  reader  will,  perhaps,  be  pleased  with 
a  short  description  of  this  place,  which  no  traveller  in  the 
north  of  Europe  will  fail  to  visit.  The  little  town  of  Pula- 
wa  is  situated  about  eighteen  leagues  south  of  Warsaw,  on 
the  main  road  to  Lemberg  in  Gallicia,  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Vistula.  The  windings  of  this  noble  stream  are  so  hap- 
pily turned  as  to  present  a  prospect  of  both  its  sides,  till  it 
reaches  the  horizon.  The  breadth  of  the  river  near  this 
town  is  nearly  three  English  miles.  Its  shores  are  broken 
into  little  hills  covered  with  wood,  in  the  intervals  of  which 
fine  villages  meet  the  eye,  and  in  the  distance  are  seen  the 
picturesque  ruins  of  Casimir.  The  town  of  Pulawa  itself  is 
situated  on  the  declivity  of  a  high  bank,  which  declines  to- 
ward the  river  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre.  This  de- 
clivity is  laid  out  as  a  garden  in  the  purest  taste,  terminat- 
ing, toward  the  river,  in  extensive  meadows,  planted  with 
groves  of  oaks  and  poplars,  and  enlivened  by  herds  of  Tyro- 
lese  cattle,  cottages,  shepherds'  cabins,  &c,  in  various  styles 
of  building.  This  garden  surrounds  Pulawa,  and  is  itself 
surrounded  by  great  parks,  which  extend  several  leagues 
beyond  it  in  every  direction.  These  are  intersected  by 
beautiful  avenues  of  linden  trees.  Among  the  many  works 
in  marble,  statues,  obelisks,  &c,  the  temple  of  Sibylla,  with 
its  magnificent  statue  of  alabaster,  is  distinguished,  as  is 
also  the  statue  of  a  nymph  in  one  of  the  grottos,  a  master- 
piece of  sculpture.  The  palace,  consisting  of  a  main  build- 
ing with  two  wings,  is  a  noble  piece  of  architecture.  Its 
apartments  are  rich  and  splendid.  Prince  Czartoriski  has 
the  largest  library  in  Poland,  and  the  greatest  private  library 
in  Europe,  which  is  open  to  the  public. 

Czartoriski 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  53 

The  first  step  taken  by  the  new  government  was 
to  send  deputies  to  the  Grand  Duke.  They  were 
instructed  to  demand  whether  he  meant  to  depart 
peaceably,  or  to  attack  the  city.  Among  the 
deputies  were  Lubecki  and  Lelewell.  They  found 
the  Grand  Duke  encamped,  with  his  army,  in  the 
fields  of  Mokotow. 

The  deputies  represented  to  Constantine  the 
consequences  that  would  result  from  an  attack  on 
the  city,  as  well  in  regard  to  himself  as  to  the 
nation.  They  informed  him  that  the  army  had 
already  joined  the  people,  and  proposed  to  him 
that  he  should  depart  unmolested,  on  a  prescribed 
route.  They  promised  that  he  should  find  every 
possible  accommodation  provided  on  that  route,  for 
himself  and  his  troops.  The  Grand  Duke  de- 
manded some  time  for  reflection,  and  finally  gave 
the  deputies  the  following  answer  in  writing. 

Art.  I.  The  Grand  Duke  declares  that  it  was 


Czartoriski  happened  to  be  in  Pulawa  when  the  revolution 
broke  out.  Summoned  to  the  helm  of  the  state  by  the  na- 
tion, he  hastened  to  devote  his  exertions  to  his  country. 
Laudable  as  his  previous  career  had  been,  it  was  excelled 
by  his  conduct  during  the  struggle,  in  which  he  represented 
the  heau  ideal  of  virtue  and  patriotism.  Through  all  the 
stormy  changes  of  popular  opinion  he  continued  firm  and 
unwavering,  having  but  one  view,  one  aim,  the  good  of  his 
country.  He  carried  to  the  chief  magistrate's  seat  the  same 
calmness,  the  same  mildness  which  had  characterised  his 
private  life.  He  was  never  actuated  by  passion.  He  con- 
sidered all  Poles  as  brethren.  Though  in  the  sixtieth  year 
of  his  age,  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  fatigues  of  war,  but 
constantly  accompanied  Skrzynecki,  to  whom  he  was  much 
attached,  in  his  marches,  and  was  at  his  side  in  many  bat- 
tles.    His  whole  character  was  essentially  noble. 

7 


54 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 


never  his  intention  to  attack  Warsaw.  In  case  he 
should  find  himself  under  the  necessity  of  so 
doing,  he  will  give  the  authorities  notice  of  his  in- 
tention forty-eight  hours  before  the  attack. 

Art.  II.  The  Grand  Duke  will  entreat  the 
Emperor  to  grant  an  amnesty  for  the  past. 

Art.  III.  The  Grand  Duke  declares  that  he  has 
sent  no  orders  to  the  Russian  forces  in  Lithuania 
to  pass  the  frontier  of  the  kingdom. 

Art.  IV.  Prisoners  will  be  exchanged. 

The  deputies  returned  to  Warsaw  with  this 
answer,  at  three  o'clock.  It  was  immediately 
published,  but  did  not  satisfy  the  people.  They 
demanded  to  know  the  day  and  hour  of  the  Grand 
Duke's  departure.  If  he  should  refuse  to  obey, 
they  declared  that  they  would  attack  him.  It  was 
finally  concluded  to  allow  him  two  days  for  his 
necessary  arrangements,  and  then  to  send  a  second 
deputation  to  insist  on  his  instant  departure.* 


*  The  Grand  Duke's  army  at  Mokatow,  consisted  of  the 
following  regiments. 

1.  Infantry  grenadiers,  two  battalions 

2.  Light  Infantry 

3.  Battalion  for  instruction 

4.  Cuirasseurs  of  Podolia  4  squadrons 

5.  Hulan,  Cesarowicz         4         * 

6.  Hussars  of  Grodno        4         * 

7.  Battery  of  Horse  Artillery 

8.  Battery  of  Foot  Artillery 

Total, 

Of  Polish  soldiers,  he  had  six  companies  of  grenadiers  of 
the  foot  guard,  and  one  regiment  of  chasseurs  of  the  guard. 
These  regiments,  however,  returned  to  Warsaw  and  joined 


Infantry 

2000 

.  Cava! 

ry.  Artillery. 

2000 

• 

1000 

800 
800 
800 

12  pieces. 
12     * 

5000 

2400 

24     * 

THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  B^ 

The  provisional  government  immediately  set 
about  restoring  order  to  every  department  of  the 
administration.  The  Bureau  of  Police  was  abol- 
ished, and  a  council  of  citizens  was  substitutedr  in 
its  place,  under  the  direction  of  the  aged  and 
worthy  Wengrzecki.  This  man  had  been  presi- 
dent of  Warsaw  in  the  times  of  the  grand  duchy. 
He  was  compelled  to  leave  this  office,  by  certain 
persecutions,  which  he  brought  upon  himself  by 
not  being  sufficiently  in  the  spirit  of  the  Russian 
government.  At  the  same  time  the  national  guard 
was  established,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Count  Lubinski.  The  guard  began  their  service 
on  the  very  same  day.  They  mounted  guard  at 
the  bank  and  the  public  treasury,  and  their  patrols 
maintained  order  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  Their 
duties  were  performed  with  the  utmost  punctu- 
ality. All  the  shops  were  opened,  and  the  city 
wore  as  peaceful  an  aspect  as  if  there  had  been  no 
army  before  it. 

At  the  same  time  the  provisional  government 
sent  proclamations  into  all  the  provinces,  to  inform 
the  nation  of  these  events.  They  began  with  the 
following  beautifully  figurative  expression  :  '  Poles  ! 

the  nation  on  the  second  of  December.  The  true  cause  of 
the  Grand  Duke's  demand  for  time  was,  that  he  hoped  to 
exert  a  secret  influence  on  those  of  the  Polish  troops  who 
had  not  yet  joined  the  people.  This  fact  was  confirmed  by 
two  captured  spies,  one  of  whom  he  had  despatched  to  the 
light-horse  in  Lowicz,  and  the  other  to  the  division  of  hus- 
sars of  Siedlec.  The  letters  they  carried  to  the  command- 
ers of  these  forces  urged  them,  with  promises  of  great  re- 
wards, to  join  the  Grand  Duke. 


56  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  eagle  of  Poland  has  broken  his  chains,  and 
will  soon  have  burst  through  the  clouds  into  those 
purer  regions  in  which  nothing  shall  shut  from 
him  the  light  of  the  sun.'  The  military  govern- 
ment issued  proclamations  to  the  troops  at  all  the 
distant  stations,  ordering  them  to  repair  forthwith 
to  Warsaw.  The  divisions  of  chasseurs  received 
orders  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  Grand  Duke, 
to  fall  on  his  rear  and  cut  off  his  retreat.  The 
city  itself  was  put  in  a  better  state  of  defence  ; 
the  barriers  were  fortified,  and  guarded  by  strong 
detachments  ;  all  was  prepared  for  an  attack. 
The  government  made  proper  provision  for  the  care 
of  the  Russian  prisoners,  of  whatever  rank,  as  well 
as  of  the  ladies  of  the  Russian  civil  and  military 
officers  who  had  left  Warsaw.  The  royal  palace 
was  assigned  for  the  residence  of  the  officers  and 
ladies  ;  the  privates  were  lodged  in  barracks.  At 
a  later  period  they  were  permitted  to  go  about  the 
streets  and  earn  money  by  their  labor,  in  addition 
to  their  usual  allowance.  The  Russians  were  so 
touched  by  this  generous  treatment,  that  they 
swore,  with  tears,  never  to  forget  it. 

These  details  of  the  first  day  of  our  revolution, 
for  the  correctness  of  which  I  pledge  myself,  may 
serve  to  answer  the  accusations  of  some  journal- 
ists, who  have  stated  that  the  commencement  of 
the  national  struggle  was  marked  with  the  greatest 
atrocities,  and  that  more  than  forty  field  officers, 
many  subalterns,  and  large  parties  of  privates  were 
butchered   for  declining  to  engage  in  the  cause. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  57 

These  impeachments  of  the  Polish  nation  are 
unjust  and  false.  As  has  been  said  before,  the 
foreigners  in  Warsaw  could  not  sufficiently  praise 
the  admirable  order  with  which  our  first  move- 
ments were  conducted.  Our  enemies  accuse  the 
people  of  having  robbed  the  public  treasuries.  —  I 
affirm  that  not  a  gilder  was  lost  —  neither  public 
nor  private  property  was  pillaged. 

As  the  enemy  was  still  encamped  before  the 
city  on  the  first  and  second  of  December,  and  had 
as  yet  given  no  decisive  answer  respecting  the 
time  of  his  departure,  the  people,  as  well  as  the 
army,  were  still  under  arms  and  upon  the  walls. 
At  this  time  the  twelve  companies  of  students, 
called  the  Academical  Legions,  were  organized. 
It  was  heart-stirring  to  see  these  noble  youths 
assembled  in  arms  to  defend  their  country.  Many 
of  them  had  just  been  rescued  from  prison,  and 
could  not  walk  without  difficulty.  This  did  not 
damp  their  ardor  ;  the  hope  of  fighting  success- 
fully for  the  liberty  of  Poland  renewed  their 
strength.  The  Academical  Legions  requested  to 
be  sent  to  the  posts  nighest  the  enemy.  These 
two  days  passed  in  entire  quietness. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  second  of  December, 
general  Schenbek  arrived  from  Plock  with  the 
first  regiment  of  chasseurs.  At  the  same  time 
came  colonel  Sierawski  from  Serock,  with  his  reg- 
iment. Both  were  received  with  great  enthusi- 
asm. New  detachments  from  the  provinces 
marched  into  Warsaw  every  day.     A  truly  affect- 


58  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

ing  sight  it  was  to  see  more  than  a  thousand  peas- 
ants, and  about  fifty  peasant  girls  from  the  coun- 
try about  Warsaw,  marching  into  the  city  with 
clubs,  scythes,  and  weapons  of  every  description. 
They  were  escorted  by  the  shouting  populace  to 
the  Bank,  and  there  welcomed  by  the  national 
government.  At  the  request  of  the  people,  another 
deputation  was  this  day  sent  to  the  Grand  Duke, 
to  urge  his  departure,  and  to  inform  him  that  an 
attack  would  be  the  necessary  consequence  of  his 
refusal.  The  Grand  Duke  saw  the  necessity  of 
compliance,  and  decided  to  commence  his  march 
on  the  following  day,  by  the  prescribed  route  of 
Pulawa.  He  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Polish 
nation,  wherein  he  promised  never  to  fight  against 
those,  '  whom,'  to  use  his  own  expression,  '  he 
had  always  loved.'  He  adduced  his  marriage 
with  a  young  Polish  lady  as  a  proof  of  his  affection 
for  the  nation.  At  the  same  time  he  promised  to 
entreat  the  emperor  to  grant  an  amnesty,  and  to 
take,  in  general,  the  mildest  measures.  He  beg- 
ged the  Poles  to  deal  gently  with  the  Russian 
prisoners,  their  families,  the  ladies,  and  in  short 
with  all  Russian  subjects  remaining  in  Warsaw.* 

*  These  proclamations,  which  were  immediately  publish- 
ed in  the  Warsaw  papers,  contain  clear  proof  that  the 
Grand  Duke  had  no  injuries  on  the  part  of  the  Polish  na- 
tion to  complain  of,  and  that  he  himself  felt  that  the  Poles 
were  constrained  to  revolt. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Patriotic  Club  commences  its  sessions. — Character  of  that  associa- 
tion.— The  Grand  Duke  departs  for  the  frontier.— Particulars  of  his 
march. — The  Polish  regiments  which  had  remained  with  him  return 
to  Moscow. — Their  reception. — Krazynski  and  Kornatowski. — Depu- 
tation to  St  Petersburgh. — Demands  to  be  laid  before  the  Emperor. — 
Sierawski  made  Governor  of  Warsaw,  and  Wasowiez  chief  of  the  staff. 
— Order  respecting  the  army. — Arrival  of  volunteers  from  the  interior. 
— Opening  of  the  theatre. — Religious  solemnities  at  Praga. — Chlopicki 
nominated  and  proclaimed  Dictator. 

On  the  third  of  December  the  Patriotic  Club  be- 
gan its  session,  under  the  guidance  of  very  worthy 
persons.  The  object  of  this  society  was,  to  watch 
over  all  the  departments  of  the  administration,  to 
see  that  the  measures  adopted  were  congenial  with 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  in  the  spirit  of  the 
revolution  ;  and  to  promote  fraternity  and  union 
throughout  the  nation.  They  desired  to  repress 
all  manifestations  of  selfishness  or  ambition,  to  dis- 
cover and  bring  before  the  people  the  persons  best 
qualified  for  public  offices,  and,  in  short,  to  promote 
the  best  interests  of  the  nation  with  unwearied 
zeal.  If  this  club  was,  at  times,  led  by  the  fervor 
of  patriotic  feeling  to  adopt  measures  considered 
rigorous  by  many,  their  acts  were  never  inconsist- 
ent with  the  love  of  country,  or  their  own  views  of 
the  national  honor.  At  this  time,  a  committee  was 
also  appointed  for  the  trial  of  the  spies. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  of  December,  the 
Grand  Duke  commenced  his  march  towards  Pula- 


60  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

wa,  according  to  agreement,*  and  the  Polish  regi- 
ments which  had  remained  with  Constantine  up  to 
this  time,  now  returned  to  Warsaw.  These  troops 
were  at  first  regarded  by  the  people  with  feelings 

*  The  details  of  the  Grand  Duke's  march  may  not  be  un- 
interesting to  the  reader,  and  at  the  same  time  they  will  serve 
to  refute  the  false  report  that  he  was  pursued  by  the  Poles. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  third  of  December,  the  Grand 
Duke  left  his  camp  at  Mokotow,  and  marched  on  the  route  of 
Rosienice  and  Pulawa.  Agents  had  been  sent  in  advance  in 
this  direction,  to  procure  for  him  every  convenience,  which 
he  found  uniformly  prepared.  In  a  village  between  Kosein- 
ice  and  Graniza,  where  he  halted  with  his  troops,  he  met  in- 
tendant  general  AVolicki,  who  was  on  his  way  from  Lublin  to 
Warsaw.  Wolicki  waited  on  the  Grand  Duke,  in  the  hope 
that  he  might  render  him  some  service.  Constantine  had 
quartered  himself  in  the  house  of  the  curate  of  the  village, 
and  received  the  intendant  general  in  the  parlor,  where  the 
Grand  Duchess  Lowicz  was  present.  Wolicki  requested  his 
orders  with  regard  to  the  accommodation  of  the  troops. 
Constantine  coldly  thanked  him,  and  immediately  began  to 
complain  of  the  Poles;  in  which  he  was  joined  by  his  lady. 
He  reproached  the  nation  with  the  benefits  he  had  conferred 
on  them,  and  seizing  Wolicki  violently  by  the  hand,  added, 
'And  for  all  this  they  wanted  to  assassinate  me  !'  When 
Wolicki,  in  the  most  delicate  manner,  represented  that  his 
residence  had  been  entered  with  the  best  intentions  toward 
his  person,  the  Grand  Duke,  with  yet  greater  exasperation 
and  fury,  exclaimed,  *  They  have  chased  me  out  of  the  coun- 
try —  but  I  shall  soon  return.'  In  his  rage  he  again  seized 
Wolicki's  hand,  saying,  '  You  shall  stay  with  me,  as  a  hos- 
tage for  my  generals  retained  in  Warsaw.'  Notwithstanding 
the  expostulations  of  Wohcki,  he  was  arrested  and  detained. 
He  however  was  not  long  a  prisoner,  for  he  soon  found  means 
to  regain  his  Uberty.  The  Grand  Duke  passed  that  night  at 
the  village  of  Graniza,  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  which  Wo- 
licki knew.  He  found  opportunity  to  speak  with  one  of  them 
in  the  night,  told  him  what  had  befallen,  and  desired  him  to 
raise  a  false  alarm,  as  if  the  Poles  were  at  hand.  It  was 
done.  The  citizens  began  to  shout  in  the  streets,  and  Wo- 
licki, profiting  by  the  fright  and  disorder  of  the  Russians, 
escaped. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  61 

of  indignation.  Such  feelings  were,  however,  soon 
dissipated  by  the  explanations  which  were  given. 
Thej  had  been  misled  by  their  generals,  Krasyn- 
ski  and  Kornatowski.     As  to  general  Zimyrski, 

He  arrived  at  Warsaw 'on  the  following  day,  and  related 
his  adventure,  which  was  pubhshed  as  an  illustration  of  the 
Grand  Duke's  perfidy  and  inconsistency.  This  conduct,  to- 
gether with  his  threats,  would  have  justified  the  Poles  in  pur- 
suing and  taking  him,  with  his  whole  army,  prisoners.  But 
the  nation  generously  suffered  this  opportunity  for  revenge 
to  pass  by,  and  adhered  to  the  promise  of  a  free  passage. 

On  his  arrival  in  Pulawa,  Constantine  was  received  by  the 
princess  Czartoriska  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  as  he  also 
was  in  Lubartow  by  the  princess  Lubomirska.  In  the  latter 
place,  general  Rosniecki,  who  accompanied  the  Grand  Duke, 
demanded  an  apartment  in  a  pavilion  adjoining  the  pcdace, 
which  was  designed  for  the  suite  of  Constantine.  The  prin- 
cess answered,  in  the  presence  of  the  Grand  Duke,  '  There 
is  no  room  for  traitors  to  their  country  in  my  house.' 

On  the  way  to  Lenczna,  the  Russian  army  met  a  division 
of  Polish  lancers,  marching  to  Siedlec.  They  halted  in  order 
to  go  through  the  ceremony  of  saluting.  *The  Grand  Duke, 
with  his  suite,  approached  them  with  an  air  of  perfect  friend- 
ship, shook  hands  with  several,  and  endeavored  to  persuade 
them  to  return  with  him.  *  Hulans,^  said  he,  '  do  not  forget 
your  duty  to  your  monarch,  but  set  your  comrades  a  good 
example.'  He  then  offered  them  money  and  other  rewards. 
Indignant  at  his  proposals,  the  lancers  replied,  *  Prince,  we 
thank  you  for  the  money  and  promises  you  offer  us,  but  there 
is  no 'command  more  sacred  in  our  eyes  than  the  call  of  our 
country  ;  no  greater  reward  than  the  privilege  of  fighting  in 
her  cause  !'  With  this,  they  wheeled,  and  continued  their 
march  past  the  Russian  troops,  singing  patriotic  songs. 

The  Grand  Duke  passed  the  frontier  with  his  forces  on 
the  tliirteenth  of  December,  and  crossing  the  Wadowa,  en- 
tered Volhynia,  an  ancient  Polish  province,  now  incorporated 
with  Russia. 

I  cannot  forbear  to  record  the  noble  conduct  of  colonel 
Turno,  a  Pole,  and  aid-de-camp  to  the  Grand  Duke.  This 
officer  had  been  fourteen  years  with  Constantine,  and  was 

8 


62  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

who  commanded  the  grenadiers,  he  was  entirely 
blameless.  He  had  intended  to  join  the  patriots 
at  first,  but  was  detained  as  a  prisoner  by  the  Rus- 
sians. The  other  two  generals  persuaded  their 
men  that  the  revolutionary  movements  were  only 
disturbances  of  the  mob,  excited  by  the  students, 
and  would  quickly  come  to  an  end.  They  ought 
not,  they  told  them,  to  forsake  their  legitimate 
government  and  the  Grand  Duke.     It  was  impos- 

one  of  the  few  honest  men  in  his  suite.  His  long  endurance 
of  his  chief's  follies  and  rudeness  could  have  had  no  other 
motive  than  the  hope  of  doing  good  toothers,  and  preventing 
mischief.  Constantino  loved  him,  valued  him  highly,  and 
was  firmly  convinced  that  Turno  would  remain  with  him. 
What  was  his  surprise,  when,  at  the  frontier,  Turno  rode  up 
to  take  his  leave!  At  first,  he  was  unable  to  answer.  After 
some   time  he  said,  with  an  expression  of  heartfelt   grief, 

*  Turno,  and  will  you  leave  me — you,  upon  whom  I  had 
placed  my  greatest  hopes  —  whom  I  loved  so  much  —  who 
have  been  with  me  so  long  ?'     Turno  answered,  with  dignity, 

*  Your  Highness  may  be  assured  that  I  am  sorry  to  part  with 
you.  I  have  certainly  always  been  your  friend,  and  I  am  so 
still.  I  should  never  leave  you  in  another  cause — no,  not 
in  the  greatest  distress :  on  the  contrary  I  should  be  happy 
to  share  every  misfortune  with  you.  But,  your  Highness, 
other  circumstances  and  duties  call  me  now  —  the  highest 
and  weightiest  duty — the  duty  a  man  owes  to  his  country. 
Your  Highness,  I  have  done  all  that  honor  and  duty  com- 
manded as  your  aid-de-camp  —  I  have  accompanied  you  to 
the  frontier,  that  I  might  be  your  guide  as  long  as  you  should 
remain  on  Polish  ground,  and  preserve  you  from  every  pos- 
sible danger.  Now  you  need  me  no  longer.  You  are  in  your 
own  country,  and  my  duty  as  your  aid-de-camp  being  at  an 
end,  it  is  now  my  sacred  duty  as  a  Pole  to  return  at  the  sum- 
mons of  my  country.' 

The  Grand  Duke  marched  with  his  corps  towards  Bialy- 
stok,  where  he  remained  till  the  beginning  of  the  campaign. 
In  the  war,  he  was  not  ashamed  to  accept  the  command  of 
a  corps  of  the  army,  and  to  fight  against  those  who  had 
treated  him  so  generously,  his  promises  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding. 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  .  63 

sible  afterwards  for  these  regiments  to  learn  the 
truth,  as  they  were  closely  surrounded  by  the  Rus- 
sians, and  cut  off  from  all  communication  with 
others. 

Early  on  the  third  of  December,  when  the 
Grand  Duke  had  resolved  to  depart,  he  visited 
these  troops  in  person,  and  declared  before  them 
that  he  left  Warsaw  only  to  avoid  useless  blood- 
shed, and  that  order  would  soon  be  restored.  He 
requested  them  to  go  with  him,  as  they  were  regi- 
ments of  guards,  in  whom  the  emperor  had  pecu- 
liar confidence.  '  Soldiers,'  he  said,  '  will  you 
go  with  us  ;  or  stay  and  imite  with  those  who 
have  proved  faithless  to  their  sovereign  ?'  With 
one  voice  the  whole  corps  exclaimed,  '  We  will 
remain  —  we  will  join  our  brethren  and  fight  for 
the  liberty  of  our  country.  We  are  sorry  that  we 
could  not  do  so  from  the  beginning,  but  we  were 
deceived.' 

The  people  who  had  assembled  to  gaze  at  these 
unfortunate  men,  with  unfavorable  and  unjust  feel- 
ings toward  them,  w^ere  disarmed  of  their  resent- 
ment at  the  very  sight  of  them,  and  rushed  into 
their  embraces.  They  were  surrounded  by  the 
multitude,  and  taken,  wdth  joyful  acclamations,  to 
the  Place  of  the  Bank.  But  though  the  people 
forgave  the  soldiers,  their  indignation  remained 
unabated  against  their  generals,  and  the  greatest 
efforts  of  the  leading  patriots  were  required  to  save 
Krasynski  and  Kornatowski  from  their  rage.  It 
was  dreadful  to  behold  these  generals  riding  with 


64  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

downcast  looks,  not  daring  to  look  on  those  whom 
the  J  had  intended  to  betray.  Death  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  preferable  to  thus  meeting  the 
curses  of  a  justly  incensed  people.  Mothers  held 
up  their  children,  and,  pointing  at  the  two  gene- 
rals, exclaimed,  *  See  the  traitors!'  Arriving  at 
the  Bank,  the  people  demanded  that  Krasynski 
and  Kornatowski  should  give  their  reasons  for  hav- 
ing acted  as  they  had  done ;  and  as  the  wretched 
men  could  say  nothing  in  their  own  defence,  a 
general  cry  arose  of  '  Death  to  the  traitors !' 
Nothing  but  the  love  of  the  people  for  Chlopicki 
and  Schembeck,  who  interceded,  could  have  hin- 
dered them  from  carrying  their  wishes  into  imme- 
diate execution.  Several  excited  individuals  made 
their  way  toward  the  culprits  with  pistols  in  their 
hands,  and,  after  aiming  at  them,  fired  their  weap- 
ons into  the  air,  crying,  '  You  are  unworthy  of  a 
shot  from  a  Polish  hand.  Live  —  to  be  everlast- 
ingly tortured  by  your  consciences !'  The  unfor- 
tunate men  entreated  that  they  might  be  permitted 
to  serve  in  the  ranks,  as  privates.  They  were 
immediately  deprived  of  their  commissions,  and 
from  that  time  they  lived  in  retirement  during  the 
war.^ 

*  These  Polish  regiments  and  generals  are,  doubtless, 
the  same  who  were  reported  by  the  Berlin  State  Gazette  to 
have  been  butchered.  So  far  from  that,  the  nation  received 
them  kindly,  and  forgave  them.  Prussians  !  you  know  little 
of  the  Poles,  or  of  their  feelings.  The  time  may  come 
when  we  shall  know  one  another  better. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  65 

The  people  were  this  day  informed  that  prince 
Adam  Czartoriski  had  been  nominated  president 
of  the  national  government ;  that  the  eighteenth 
of  December  was  appointed  for  the  opening  of  the 
Diet ;  that  till  that  day  the  rights  of  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  would  be  acknowledged ;  and  that  Lu- 
becki,  Osvowski,  and  Jezierski  would  be  sent  to 
St  Petersburgh,  as  a  deputation,  to  inform  the 
emperor  of  all  that  had  happened.  They  were 
also  to  lay  before  him  the  following  demands : 

1st.  That  all  Russian  troops  should  be  with- 
drawn from  the  kingdom  forever,  that  a  perpetual 
conflict  between  the  two  nations  might  be  avoided. 

2d.  That  the  privileges  of  the  constitution 
should  be  again  confirmed  in  their  fullest  extent. 

3d.  That  all  the  ancient  Polish  provinces  incor- 
porated with  Russia  should  partake  in  the  privi- 
leges of  the  constitution,  as  Alexander  had  prom- 
ised. 

The  deputies  were  also  instructed  to  entreat  the 
emperor  to  come  to  Warsaw  and  open  the  Diet,  in 
order  to  satisfy  himself  respecting  the  actual  state 
of  affairs. 

The  deputies  left  Warsaw  that  very  evening. 

The  commander  in  chief  appointed  general  Sie- 
rawski  governor  of  the  city  of  Warsaw,  and  colonel 
count  Wonsowicz  chief  of  the  staff.  These  officers 
were  both  beloved  by  the  people,  and  proved  them- 
selves able  and  zealous  defenders  of  their  country 
through  the  whole  campaign.  The  commander  in 
chief  also  published  an  order,  that  the  army  should 


66  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

consist  of  200,000  men.  Each  wayewodeship 
(principality)  was  to  furnish  9,000  infantry  and 
11,000  horse.  There  are  eight  wayewodeships  in 
Poland.  The  army  already  existing,  the  volunteer 
forces,  and  the  regiments  raised  and  equipped  by 
some  of  the  noblemen,  were  not  reckoned  in  this 
estimate,  nor  did  it  include  the  volunteers  which 
were  to  be  expected  from  the  Polish  provinces 
under  other  foreign  governments. 

The  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  of  December  were 
remarkable  days  in  the  history  of  our  revolution. 
Soldiers  and  peasants  flocked  in  from  all  sides  — ' 
from  all  quarters  of  the  country.  In  a  short  time, 
more  than  five  thousand  peasants,  armed  with 
scythes,  axes,  and  other  weapons,  were  counted. 
Among  them  were  more  than  two  hundred  peasant 
girls,  with  sickles.  These  were  days  of  real  joy, 
when  all  united  in  the  defence  of  Poland,  without 
distinction  of  rank,  age,  or  even  sex  —  when  rich 
and  poor,  nobles  and  peasants,  met,  as  friends 
escaped  from  common  sufferings,  and  embraced. 
Tables  were  spread  with  refreshments  for  those 
who  arrived,  in  the  streets.  The  fourth  was  re- 
markable for  the  opening  of  the  theatre.*     Reli- 

*  This  was  the  first  time  the  theatre  was  opened  during 
the  revolution.  A  patriotic  piece  was  performed,  viz.  '  The 
Rrakovians  and  GuraUans,'  or  *  The  Union  of  the  two 
Tribes.'  This  play  had  been  prohibited  before.  As  early 
as  six,  P.  M.  the  theatre  was  crowded.  No  distinction  was 
observed  in  regard  to  places.  Before  the  play  began,  one 
of  the  patriots  addressed  the  audience  with  a  speech,  in 
which  he  called  to  memory  all  the  outrages  by  which  the 
revolution  had  been  rendered  necessary,  and  informed  them 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION,  67 

gious  solemnities  took  place  in  Praga  on  the  fifth, 
and  on  the  sixth  a  Dictator  was  nominated.* 

When,   on  the  sixth  of  December,  the  national 
government  notified  Chlopicki  of  his  nomination  as 

what  measures  the  National  Assembly  had  taken  to  insure 
the  success  of  the  good  cause.  '  Poles!  Brethren  !'  he  said, 
*  we  have  sent  deputies  to  the  Emjieror,  to  represent  our 
sufferings  for  fifteen  years  —  our  oppressions  —  which  drew 
neither  attention  nor  relief  from  Russia,  while  our  rights 
were  trampled  upon,  and  our  innocent  brethren  tortured. 
Perhaps  the  Emperor,  surrounded  by  bad  men,  has  been 
kept  in  ignorance  of  our  wrongs,  and  will  be  astonished  to 
hear  of  all  this  injustice  from  the  mouths  of  our  deputies. 
Perhaps  he  will  take  measures  to  redress  all  these  villanies 
without  delay.  If  the  grace  of  God  has  granted  him  to 
reign  over  Poland,  he  may  follow  the  steps  of  our  good 
kings  of  old ;  of  whom  no  one  ever  tarnished  the  throne 
with  tyranny.  As  for  us,  brethren,  let  us  forget  past  dis- 
sensions, and  unitedly  and  patiently  strive  with  one  accord 
for  the  redemption  of  our  country.'  After  this  speech, 
which  was  joyfully  received,  the  orchestra  played  Kos- 
ciusko's march,  which  had  not  been  heard  for  fifteen  years. 
At  first,  the  music  was  drowned  in  the  shouts  of  the  audi- 
ence—  *Hail,  our  country  —  our  father  Kosciusko!  France, 
and  Lafayette  the  friend  of  Kosciusko,  forever  !'  After  this, 
the  Marseilles  hymn  was  played,  and  then  the  Mazur  of 
Dombrowski.  The  play  was  full  of  patriotic  songs,  and  the 
audience  joined  their  voices  to  those  of  the  actors.  But 
when,  at  the  end  of  the  play,  three  standards,  with  the  ar- 
morial bearings  of  the  ancient  provinces  of  Poland,  were 
brought  in,  and  were  folded  into  one  in  the  embraces  of  the 
actors  who  represented  the  three  chief  tribes,  the  exultation 
of  the  audience  surpassed  all  bounds.  One  of  the  favorite 
actors  addressed  the  spectators  in  these  words  —  'The  mon- 
ster tyranny,  terrified  by  the  sudden  light  of  liberty,  which 
he  could  not  endure,  has  left  the  den  from  which  he  has 
hitherto  spread  death  and  affright.  Oh  that,  scared  by  this 
light,  he  may  be  driven  farther  and  farther,  nor  be  suffered 
to  rest  on  any  of  the   fields  of  Poland.     May  he  retire  to 


*  On  Sunday,  the  fifth  of  December,  prayers  were  offered 
up  in  all  the  churches  of  Warsaw  by  the  people  from  the 


68  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

generalissimo,  he  replied,  that  they  had  no  power 
to  place  him  in  that  station  ;  that  in  such  critical 

the  dark,  icy  regions  of  the  north,  whence  he  came,  and 
God  grant  that  he  may  never  return  to  us.' 

After  this,  those  of  the  patriots  who  had  been  most  ac- 
tively distinguished  on  the  first  night  of  the  revolution  and 
after,  and  those  who  had  suffered  in  dungeons  for  their  love 
of  country,  were  presented  to  the  assemblage.  They  were 
received  with  infinite  joy,  and  carried  about  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  people  with  shouts.  Many  ladies  were  then  brought 
forward,  who  had  followed  the  patriots  in  arms  on  the  first 
night,  or  had  sacrificed  their  wealth  on  the  altar  of  patriot- 
ism. At  first  sight,  these  beautiful  and  noble  beings  might 
have  been  taken  for  angels  sent  down  for  the  redemption 
of  unhappy  Poland. 

These  scenes  surpass  description — they  can  only  be  felt 
by  hearts  truly  free.  These  were  moments  to  unite  the 
whole  nation.  Persons  who  had  shunned  each  other  for 
years,  each  fearing  a  spy  in  the  other,  explained  themselves 
and  embraced.  These  scenes  will  live  eternally  in  the  mem- 
ory of  every  Pole.  Beholding  his  countrymen  in  this  ec- 
stasy of  joy,  there  was  none  who  did  not  weep  —  none  who 
did  not  feel  ready  to  die  on  the  morrow,  having  seen  them 
thus  happy.  The  prisoner  condemned  to  death,  when  un- 
expectedly rescued,  and  permitted  to  breathe  the  free  air, 
laughs,  weeps,  endeavors  to  express  his  gratitude,  and  cannot. 
Such  was  the  feeling  of  Poland  in  these  blessed  moments. 


provinces  as  well  as  the  inhabitants.  The  blessing  of  the 
Most  High  was  implored  on  our  arms.  Of  all  the  religious 
solemnities,  those  of  Praga  were  the  most  edifying  and  af- 
fecting. A  mass  was  said  in  the  open  air,  at  an  altar  erected 
on  the  spot  where  the  victims  of  Suwarrow  had  been  buried. 
This  altar  was  surrounded  by  more  than  50,000  men,  who 
sent  up  one  voice  to  God.  The  twelve  academical  legions 
formed  the  innermost  circle,  among  whom  those  who  had 
been  imprisoned  for  assisting  on  a  similar  occasion  were 
conspicuous.  In  the  intervals  of  divine  service,  and  after 
its  termination,  several  speeches  were  delivered,  one  of  which 
was  by  one  of  the  liberated  prisoners.  Recalling  the  cru- 
elties perpetrated  by  Suwarrow,  as  well  as  those  which  we 
had  lately  suffered,  he  observed,  *  Brethren,  we  were  lately 
forbidden  —  nay,  it  was  accounted  a  crime,  to  pray  for  our 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  69 

times  the  civil  and  military  power  ought  to  be 
vested  in  one    person,   and    that    he  felt    himself 

unfortunate  murdered  ancestors.  To-day,  under  this  free 
vault  of  heaven,  on  the  grave  of  our  fathers,  on  the  soil 
moistened  with  their  sacred  blood,  which  cries  to  us  for  re- 
tribution, in  the  presence  of  their  spirits  hovering  over  us, 
we  swear  never  to  lay  down  our  arms  till  we  shall  have 
avenged,  or  fallen  like  them.'  The  assembled  multitude 
then  sung  a  patriotic  hymn. 

The  sixth  of  December  was  remarkable  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  Chlopicki  to  the  dictatorship;  —  the  union  of  the 
supreme  civil  and  military  powers  in  his  person.  The  au- 
thority of  the  provisional  government  was  thus  at  an  end ; 
every  thing  was  referred  to  the  Dictator.  In  the  afternoon, 
more  than  100,000  persons  assembled  in  the  Champ  de 
Mars  and  the  space  around  it.  The  greater  part  of  the 
army,  too,  were  present.  Chlopicki  came  with  the  senators, 
and  was  received  by  those  who  had  entrusted  him  with  their 
defence  with  shouts  of  joy.  His  aspect  was,  indeed,  vener- 
able. His  silver  head,  grown  white  in  the  service  of  Po- 
land, bespoke  the  confidence  of  all. 

The  people  were  informed  by  one  of  the  senators  that  all 
the  powers  of  government  had  been  delegated  to  Chlopicki, 
in  order  that  operations  might  be  conducted  with  greater 
energy  and  despatch;  yet  with  this  restriction — that  his 
authority  should  cease  on  the  eighteenth  of  December. 
This,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  day  fixed  for  the 
opening  of  the  Diet,  to  which  body  all  farther  dispositions 
were  referred.  The  proclamation  made,  Chlopicki  himself 
addressed  the  people  thus  :  'Poles!  brethren!  The  circum- 
stances in  which  our  country  is  placed  demand  strict  unity 
of  purpose,  and  therefore  I  have  thought  it  best  to  accept 
the  supreme  power.  But  this  is  only  for  a  time.  I  shall 
resign  it  on  the  meeting  of  the  Diet.  Rely  on  my  experi- 
ence, which  is  the  fruit  of  long  service,  and  on  my  age, 
which  has  taught  me  the  knowledge  of  mankind.  Be  as- 
sured that  no  selfish  feeling  has  impelled  me  to  this  step, 
and  that  I  have  consented  to  take  it  only  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  Poland.  The  truth  of  this  1  call  God  to  witness. 
—  May  he  assist  me  to  make  my  promises  good.  Hail  to 
our  dear  country  !'  The  last  sentence  was  clamorously 
echoed  by  the  people,  with  the  addition  of,  '  and  its  brave 
defender  Chlopicki !'  Many  in  the  assembly  exclaimed, 
'  Lead  us  to  Lithuania,  Chlopicki  !' 

9 


70  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

entitled,  by  his  long  services,  to  nominate  himself 
Dictator.  His  powers,  he  said,  he  would  lay  down 
on  the  assemblage  of  the  Diet.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  next  day  he  was  proclaimed  Dictator  in  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  an  im- 
mense multitude.  After  this,  he  took  a  public  oath 
to  act  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  people, 
and  to  defend  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Poland. 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  Dictator  enters  upon  his  duties. — Plans  for  the  enrollment  of  new 
forces. — System  of  officering  them. — Want  of  energy  in  the  execu- 
tion of  his  plans. — Fortifications  neglected. — The  people  supply  the 
deficiencies  of  the  administration.— Discovery  of  the  correspondence 
between  the  ministers  Grabowski  and  Lubecki. — The  march  of 
the  army  delayed. — Answer  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  to  the  deputies. 
His  proclamation. — Its  effect  on  the  nation. — The  Diet  demand  of  the 
Dictator  an  account  of  his  trust. — The  result  of  their  investigations. — 
Chlopicki  deprived  of  the  Dictatorial  power. — The  civil  administra- 
tion entrusted  to  Prince  Adam  Czartoryski,  and  the  command  of  the 
Army  to  Prince  Michael  Radziwil,  each  subordinate  to  the  Diet. 

On  the  seventh  of  December,  the  new  Dictator 
took  possession  of  the  residence  which  had  been 
prepared  for  him.  A  guard  of  honor  was  assigned 
him,  consisting  of  a  company  of  the  Academical 
Legion.  The  twelve  companies  of  which  this  le- 
gion was  composed  mounted  guard  in  succession. 

The  nation  had  conceived  the  highest  hopes  of 
Chlopicki ;  they  expected,  above  all,  the  most  en- 
ergetic measures  in  regard  to  the  armament  and 
organization  of  the  forces.  These  hopes  were  not 
fulfilled.  At  the  very  commencement  of  his  ad- 
ministration, it  began  to  be  seen  that  this  man, 
either  from  his  advanced  age  or  the  original  inad- 
equacy of  his  talents  to  the  demands  of  such  a  situ- 
ation, would  fail  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the  nation. 
Indeed,  the  union  of  so  many  different  duties  in 
the  hands  of  one  individual  demanded  abilities  of 
no  ordinary  strength  and  compass.  As  might  have 
been  expected,  the  evident  incapacity  of  Chlopicki 
early  became   the   occasion   of  dissension  in  the 


72  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

patriotic  association  already  referred  to,  accusa- 
tions bei  ig  preferred,  as  a  matter  of  course,  against 
those  who  had  been  active  in  procuring  his  invest- 
ment with  such  high  powers.  The  succeeding 
events  will  enable  the  reader  to  decide  for  himself 
of  the  justice  of  such  accusations. 

On  assuming  his  post,  the  Dictator  adopted  the 
following  arrangements  in  regard  to  the  enroll- 
ments of  the  new  forces,  and  other  objects  of  mili- 
tary administration.  He  estimated  the  army  al- 
ready in  existence  at  25,000  men,  and  sixty-two 
pieces  of  cannon.  This  army  was  constituted  as 
follows: — The  infantry  was  composed  of  nine 
regiments,  of  two  battalions  each,  and  a  battalion 
of  sappers,  making  a  total  of  19,000  men.  The 
cavalry  was  also  composed  of  nine  regiments,  each 
regiment  consisting  of  four  squadrons,  7,200  men 
in  all.  The  artillery  w^as  divided  into  nine  bat- 
talions, of  eight  pieces  each,  in  all  seventy-two 
pieces,  exclusive  of  the  artillery  in  the  fortresses 
of  Modlin  and  Zamosc. 

This  force  the  Dictator  proposed  to  augment  in 
the  following  manner  :  —  Each  existing  regiment 
w^as  to  receive  a  third  battalion ;  and  he  intended 
to  form  fifteen  new  regiments,  of  three  battalions 
each.  This  would  have  increased  the  total  of  in- 
fantry to  54,000  men,  without  taking  into  the 
account  the  National  Guard  of  Warsaw  and  the 
other  cities,  amounting  to  10,000  men.  The 
cavalry  was  to  be  augmented  by  8000,  making  a 
total  of  15,200.     To  the  artillery  were  to  be  added 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  73 

twenty-four  pieces  of  cannon,  making  a  total  of 
ninety-six  pieces. 

In  this  estimate  the  Dictator  did  not  include 
the  aid  that  might  be  calculated  upon  from  the 
provinces  of  Prussian,  Austrian,  and  Russian  Po- 
land, the  volunteers  of  every  kind,  and  the  regi- 
ments raised  and  equipped  by  the  large  landed 
proprietors. 

For  each  of  the  eight  palatinates  into  which  the 
kingdom  was  divided,  an  officer  was  appointed, 
wl.ose  duty  it  was  to  superintend  the  organization 
of  the  military  forces,  of  v\  hich  from  seven  to  eight 
thousand  infantry,  and  one  thousand  cavalry,  were 
to  be  furnished  by  each  palatinate.  These  officers 
were  subordinate  to  two  others,  who  had  the  super- 
vision of  four  palatinates  each,  and  bore  the  title  of 
Regimentai^z,  These  last  had  the  power  of  ap- 
pointing all  the  officers  of  the  new  forces.* 

*  A  very  important  circumstance,  which  either  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  Dictator,  or  was  wilfully  neglected  by  him, 
respected  the  nomination  and  rank  of  officers.  As  the  army 
was  to  be  considerably  augmented,  a  proportionably  greater 
number  of  officers  was  requisite.  All  arrangements  upon 
this  subject  were  confided  to  the  Regimentarz,  with  whom 
the  important  power  of  making  these  appointments  was 
entirely  left.  This  course  soon  led  to  trouble.  The  Regi- 
mentarz, not  having  the  power  to  transfer  the  older  officers 
of  the  existing  army,  excepting  in  cases  where  the  offer  was 
made  by  those  officers,  were  compelled  to  appoint  new  offi- 
cers to  newly  formed  regiments.  These  newly  levied  sol- 
diers were  thus  placed  under  officers  who  were  but  learners 
themselves.  The  evil  effects  of  this  injudicious  system  were 
indeed  sensibly  felt  in  the  first  actions  of  the  campaign. 
Besides  the  evil  here  alluded  to,  a  degree  of  jealousy  be- 
tween the  old  and  new  officers  resulted  from  the  operation 
of  these  arrangements.     It  was  natural  for  those  who  were 


74  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

The  augmentation  of  the  army  was  to  have  been 
completed  by  the  twentieth  of  January,  1831. 
But  all  these  arrangements  were  made  on  paper 
only  —  the  government  did  not  press  their  execu- 
tion. In  fact,  such  a  degree  of  negligence  existed, 
that  in  some  places  where  the  people  assembled  to 
be  enrolled,  they  found  no  officers  to  receive  them, 

old  in  service  to  see  with  dissatisfaction  recently  commis- 
sioned officers  placed  above  them  in  rank.  Instead,  then,  of 
studying  to  preserve  the  utmost  harmony  between  those  who 
were  going  forth  together  to  shed  their  blood  in  the  cause  of 
their  common  country,  that  course  was  in  fact  taken,  which 
if  it  had  been  designed  to  disturb  this  harmony,  would  have 
been  deemed  the  most  efficacious. 

Arrangements  for  officering  the  army  might  have  been  made 
in  such  a  manner  as  the  following,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
parties.  After  dividing  the  officers  into  three  classes,  the 
first,  consisting  of  those  actually  in  service,  the  second  of 
those  who  had  been  in  service,  but  had  given  up  their  com- 
missions and  were  in  retirement,  and  the  third,  of  the  newly 
commissioned  officers  ;  a  military  commission  might  have 
been  formed,  who  should  have  before  them  lists  of  officers 
showing  their  periods  of  service.  This  commission  could 
have  designated  the  rank  of  each  upon  an  examination  of 
these  lists,  placing  the  retired  officers  in  the  grades  in  which 
they  stood  at  the  time  of  their  retirement.  The  new  regi- 
ments should  have  been  officered  from  the  two  first  classes, 
advancement  being  made  in  the  grade  of  each  officer.  The 
third  class,  or  the  new  officers,  should  have  been  appointed 
to  the  vacancies  thus  left  in  the  old  regiments.  Besides  the 
justice  which  such  an  arrangement  would  have  done  to  the 
officers  of  older  standing,  it  would  have  this  good  eff*ect : 
the  experienced  officers  would  have  been  more  widely  dis- 
tributed through  the  army,  and  the  new  regiments  would 
have  advanced  more  rapidly  in  organization  and  discipline. 
General  Skrzynecki  clearly  saw  the  defects  of  the  actual  ar- 
rangement ;  but  once  made,  it  was  difficult  to  reform  it. 
He  took,  however,  every  opportunity  that  offered,  to  transfer 
the  older  officers  to  advanced  grades  in  the  new  regiments. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  75 

and,  after  waiting  some  time,  they  returned  to 
their  homes.  It  was,  in  truth,  only  by  the  energy 
of  the  nation,  which  supplied  the  deficiencies  of 
the  administration,  that  our  forces  were  ever  in 
any  degree  augmented.  The  volunteer  force  was 
in  an  especial  manner  liberally  furnished  by  the 
people.  A  similar  state  of  things  existed  with 
regard  to  the  fortifications ;  and  here  again  the 
energy  of  the  people  atoned  for  the  negligence  of 
the  administration.  This  was  especially  the  case 
at  Warsaw  and  Praga,  where  all  the  citizens  la- 
bored on  the  works  of  defence,  without  distinction 
of  age  or  sex. 

The  construction  of  barricades  in  the  different 
streets  of  Warsaw,  and  of  mines  in  several  parts 
of  the  city,  was  commenced  by  the  citizens.  The 
Dictator,  however,  instead  of  occupying  his  atten- 
tion with  these  warlike  preparations,  devoted  it 
to  diplomatic  negociations,  and  despatched  emis- 
saries to  the  neighboring  courts,  charged  with 
propositions  made  without  the  knowledge  or  the 
wish  of  the  nation,  and  even,  in  some  cases,  incom- 
patible with  its  honor,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
design  of  the  revolution.  All  the  measures,  in- 
deed, of  the  Dictator,  however  well  intended  they 
might  have  been,  indicated  much  weakness  and 
indecision. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  an  event 
occurred  that  seemed  to  augur  well  for  our  pros- 
pects. This  was  the  discovery  of  the  correspon- 
dence between  the  ministers  Grabowski  and  Lu- 


76  THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

becki,  the  former  being  Secretary  of  State  for 
Poland  and  a  member  of  the  cabinet  at  St  Peters- 
burgh,  the  latter  Minister  of  Finance  at  Warsaw, 
This  correspondence  afforded  the  clearest  evidence 
that  Russia  had  intended  to  declare  war  against 
France,  and  that  she  was  prepared  to  commence 
that  war  in  December  following.* 

*  Lftter  to  Prince  Liibecki,  Minister  of  Finance  of  Warsaw^ 
dated  St  Pctcrsburgh,  the  ISth  of  August,  1830.  '  My  Prince, 
—  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  Ring  directs  ine  to  inform 
you  that  the  Polish  troops  being  now  in  marching  condition, 
you  are  requested  to  provide  the  necessary  funds,  without 
delay,  upon  which  the  public  treasury  may  count  as  occasion 
may  require,  to  support  the  expenses  of  the  movement  of 
the  army,  and  of  the  approaching  campaign.' 

(Signed)  '  Turkul,  Secretary  of  State.^ 

In  an  answer  to  this  letter,  dated  the  third  of  September, 
Prince  Lubecki  renders  an  account  of  the  means  at  his 
command.  '  Poland,'  he  says,  '  has  8,000,000  gilders  in  its 
treasury,  and  1,000,000 in  the  bank  of  Berlin.  She  is  then 
ready  to  undertake  the  necessary  preparations.' 

Extract  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Prince  LubecJci  by  Count 
Grabowskiy  Secretary  of  State  for  Poland,  at  St  Petersburgh. 
'  The  official  correspondence  which,  by  the  order  of  his 
Majesty,  I  have  the  honor  to  communicate  to  you,  my 
Prince,  and  which  directs  the  placing  of  the  Polish  army 
on  the  war  establishment,  was,  undoubtedly,  even  more  un- 
welcome to  you  than  to  myself.  I  suffer,  truly,  in  seeing 
the  progress  of  our  financial  arrangements  thus  arrested. 
Our  treasury  would  have  been  in  the  most  perfect  condition, 
but  for  the  expenses  of  this  war,  which  will  absolutely  ex- 
haust its  coffers  ;  for  on  this  occasion  our  geographical  po- 
sition places  us  in  the  front  line.' 

*  Dated  St  Petersburgh,  15th  October,  1830. 

(Signed)  *  Grabowski.' 

From  the  same  to  the  same.     Dated  October  ISth,  1830. 

*  Having  been  this  day  informed  by  his  excellency,  the 
aid-de-camp   of  his  Majesty,  Czerniszew,  that  orders   have 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  77 

These  letters  were  sent  to  Paris  in  the  early 
part  of  December,  by  an  express,  and  ought  to 

been  given  to  his  royal  highness  the  Cassarowicz,  to  place 
pn  the  war  establishment  all  the  troops  under  his  command, 
without  excepting  those  of  the  Polish  kingdom,  and  that 
these  orders  are  to  be  carried  into  effect  by  the  22d  of  De- 
cember, I  have  the  honor,  my  Prince,  to  communicate  this 
information  to  you,  by  his  Majesty's  order,  so  that  the  ne- 
cessary funds  may  be  furnished  without  delay  to  the  Minis- 
ter of  War.  And  I  farther  request  you,  my  Prince,  by  the 
order  of  his  Majesty,  to  have  the  goodness  to  assign  to  his 
imperial  highness  the  Csesarowicz  all  the  funds  for  which 
he  may  have  occasion  in  the  execution  of  his  orders. 

(Signed)  *  Grabowski.' 

From  the  same  to  the  same.     Dated  20f^  November,  1830. 

*  The  return  of  Marshal  Diebitsch  will  determine  what 
measures  it  will  be  necessary  to  take.  He  has  received  or- 
ders to  pass  through  Warsaw,  on  his  return  from  Berlin, 
with  the  view  to  consult  with  the  Grand  Duke  Constantino, 
in  an  especial  manner  upon  subjects  connected  with  the 
movement  and  subsistence  of  the  army.  The  Emperor 
wishes  that  you  would  see  the  Marshal,  as  soon  as  possible 
after  his  arrival  in  Warsaw,  in  order  to  consult  with  him  on 
all.  these  subjects  ;  and  he  authorizes  you  to  execute  all  the 
arrangements  which  may  be  determined  upon  by  Marshal 
Diebitsch  and  the  Grand  Duke,  without  waiting  for  farther 
orders  from  his  Majesty.  You  wiJl  conform  strictly  to  the 
wishes  of  his  imperial  Highness.  His  Majesty,  in  conclu- 
sion, orders  me  to  invite  you  to  repair  to  St  Petersburgh  as 
soon  as  the  army  shall  have  commenced  its  movement  and 
the  war  shall  have  been  declared,  so  that  you  may  receive 
in  person  the  orders  of  his.  Majesty.  We  are  now  in  the 
month  of  November,  the  distances  are  great,  our  armies 
cannot  be  ready  before  the  spring,  and  events  follow  each 
other  so  rapidly  that  God  only  knows  what  may  happen  be- 
fore that  time.  The  rapidity  of  their  succession  has  made 
it  impossible  to  receive  intelligence  of  events  in  season  to 
influence  their  course.  It  is  this  which  has  caused  the  un- 
fortunate state  of  affairs  in  regard  to  Belgium.  And  here, 
again,  is  opened  a  train  of  events,  in  reference  to  which  it 
is  useless  to  act,  for  the  next  courier  may  bring  us  intelli- 
gence of  an  entirely  new  state  of  things.' 

10 


78  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

have  convinced  the  French  government  of  the  hos- 
tile intentions  of  Russia.  They  should  have  satis- 
fied France  that  our  revolution,  and  the  war  that 
was  to  follow,  were  a  part  of  the  great  struggle  in 
which  her  own  existence  was  concerned.  -^ 

The  existing  army  was,  through  the  activity  of 
the  general  officers,  brought  into  such  a  state,  by 
the  middle  of  December,  that  it  could  then  have 
taken  the  field  against  the  enemy.  ~The  soldiers 
were  eager  for  the  struggle,  but  the  delay  of  their 
march  gave  color  to  the  supposition  that  an  answer 
from  the  Emperor  was  waited  for.  It  was  even 
rumored  that  the  Emperor  was  coming  to  Warsaw 
in  person.  All  this  tended  to  damp  the  excite- 
ment of  the  moment.  What,  then,  was  the  aston- 
ishment of  the  nation,  when  it  was  found  that  the 
monarch,  far  from  admitting  the  severity  of  the 
oppression  under  which  we  had  suffered  fifteen 
years,  —  far  from  giving  a  paternal  audience  to  the 
deputies  which  the  nation  had  sent  to  him,  and 
who,  in  its  name,  had  presented  the  most  moderate 
demands,  (limited,  in  fact,  to  the  ratification  and 
observance  of  the  constitution  granted  to  us,  and 
the  union  of  the  Polish  provinces  under  one  gov- 
ernment, as  had  been  promised  by  Alexander,)  — 
far  from  consenting  to  repair  to  Warsaw,  as  the 
deputies  had  entreated  him  to  do,  as  a  father  among 
his  children,  to  hear  their  complaints  and  satisfy 
himself  as  to  their  justice,  —  far  from  all  this,  —  in 
a  word,  discarding  all  paternal  feelings,  he  applied 
the  term  '  infamous'  to  the  sacred  effort  we  had 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  79 

been   forced    to  make   by   the   oppression   under 
which  we  had  so  long  suffered.* 

*  The  proclamations  of  the  Emperor  on  the  17th  and 
24th  of  December  were  in  effect  the  ^ame.  There  was  a 
perfect  correspondence  between  them  in  severity  of  lan- 
guage and  spirit.     We  will  give  the  last. 

*  By  the  grace  of  God,  we,  Nicholas  the  First,  Emperor 
and  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias,  make  known  to  all  our 
faithful  subjects  that  an  infamous  treason  has  convulsed  the 
kingdom  of  Poland,  which  is  united  to  Russia.  Evil-minded 
men,  who  had  not  been  disarmed  of  their  bad  passions  by 
the  beneficence  of  the  immortal  emperor  Alexander,  the 
generous  restorer  of  their  country,  under  the  protection  of 
the  laws  he  had  given  them,  have  secretly  concerted  plots 
for  the  subversion  of  the  established  order  of  things,  and 
began  to  execute  their  projects  on  the  29th  of  November 
last,  by  rebellion,  effusion  of  blood,  and  attempts  against 
the  life  of  our  well  beloved  brother  the  Csesarowicz  Grand 
Duke  Constantino  Paulowicz.  Profiting  by  the  obscurity 
of  the  night,  a  furious  populace,  excited  by  these  men,  pre- 
cipitated themselves  upon  the  palace  of  the  Caesarowicz ; 
while,  spreading  throughout  the  city  of  Warsaw  the  false 
report  that  the  Russian  troops  were  massacring  the  peace- 
able inhabitants,  they  collected  the  people  about  them  and 
filled  the  city  with  all  the  horrors  of  anarchy.  The  Caesa- 
rowicz, with  the  Russians  who  were  about  his  person,  and 
the  Polish  troops  who  remained  faithful  to  their  duty,  de- 
termined to  take  a  position  in  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw,  and 
not  to  act  with  hostility,  in  order  that,  avoiding  all  occasion 
of  shedding  blood,  they  might  prove  in  the  clearest  manner 
the  falsehood  of  the  report  which  had  been  circulated,  and 
give  the  authorities  of  the  city  time  and  means  of  bringing 
back  to  their  duty,  in  concert  with  the  well-intentioned  cit- 
izens, those  who  had  been  misled,  and  to  restraifi  the  dis- 
contented. This  hope  was  not  fulfilled.  The  council  of 
the  city  were  unable  to  re-establish  order.  Incessantly 
menaced  by  rebels,  who  had  formed  some  illegal  union 
among  themselves,  and  had  gained  an  influence  in  the  coun- 
cil by  separating  from  it  some  members  named  by  us,  and 
filling  their  places  with  others  named  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
conspirators,  there  was  no  course  left  to  it  but  to  beseech 
the  Caesarowicz  to  send  back  the  Polish  troops  who  had  left 
Warsaw  with  him,  to  protect  the  public  and  private  proper- 


80  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  Russian  generals  Benkendorf  and  Diebitsch, 
in  a  conversation,  of  which  our  revolution  was  the 

ty  from  new  pillage.  Soon  after  this  council  was  entirely 
dissolved,  and  all  its  powers  were  united  in  the  hand  of  one 
general.  In  the  interval,  the  news  of  the  revolt  was  spread 
through  all  the  provinces  of  Poland.  Everywhere  the  same 
means  were  employed.  Imposture,  menaces,  falsehood  were 
used  to  inveigle  the  pacific  inhabitants  into  the  power  of  the 
rebels.  In  this  unfortunate  and  serious  state  of  things,  the 
Caesarowicz  considered  it  indispensable  to  yield  to  the  re- 
quest of  the  government.  He  permitted  the  small  body  of 
Polish  troops  which  remained  faithful  to  him  to  return  to 
Warsaw,  in  order  to  insure  as  far  as  possible  the  security  of 
persons  and  property.  He  himself  quitted  the  kingdom 
with  the  Russian  troops,  and  entered  on  the  13th  December 
the  town  of  Wlodawa,  in  the  government  of  Volhynia. 

'  Thus  was  executed  a  crime  which  had  been  resolved 
upon,  probably,  for  a  long  time  before.  After  so  many  mis- 
fortunes, and  when  at  least  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and 
prosperity  under  the  protection  of  our  power,  the  people  of 
the  kingdom  of  Poland  have  plunged  themselves  again  into 
the  abyss  of  revolt  and  misery,  and  multitudes  of  credulous 
men,  though  already  trembling  in  fear  of  the  chastisement 
which  awaits  them,  dare  to  think,  for  a  moment,  of  victory  ; 
and  propose  to  us  the  condition  of  being  placed  on  an 
equality  with  ourselves  !  Russians,  you  know  that  we  reject 
them  with  indignation  !  Your  hearts  burn  with  zeal  for  the 
throne.  Already  you  appreciate  the  sentiments  we  feel. 
At  the  first  intelligence  of  the  treason,  your  response  was  a 
new  oath  of  unshaken  fidelity,  and  at  this  moment  we  see 
but  one  movement  in  the  whole  extent  of  our  vast  empire. 
But  one  sentiment  animates  all  hearts  ;  the  desire  to  spare 
nothing,  to  sacrifice  all,  even  life  itself,  for  the  honor  of 
the  Emperor  and  the  integrity  of  the  empire.  We  wit- 
ness •  with  deep  emotion  the  strong  manifestation  of  the 
love  of  the  people  for  ourselves  and  for  their  country. 
We  might,  indeed,  answer  you  with  tranquillity,  that  new 
sacrifices  and  new  efforts  will  not  be  necessary.  God, 
the  protector  of  right,  is  with  us,  and  all-powerful  Rus- 
sia will  be  able,  with  a  decisive  blow,  to  bring  to  order 
those  who  have  dared  to  disturb  her  tranquillity.  Our  faith- 
ful troops,  who  have  so  recently  distinguished  themselves 
by  new  victories,  are  already  concentrating  upon  the 
western  frontier  of  the  empire.     We  are  in  readiness  to 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  81 

subject,  and  which  took  place  in  an  interview  with 
colonel  Wielezynski  who  was  one  of  the  deputies 
sent  to  the  emperor,  spoke  of  a  general  war  as  im- 

punish  the  perjured  ;  but  we  wish  to  distinguish  the  innocent 
from  the  guilty,  and  to  pardon  the  weak,  who,  from  incon- 
siderateness  or  fear  have  followed  the  current.  All  the  sub- 
jects of  our  kingdom  of  Poland,  all  the  inhabitants  of  War- 
saw, have  not  taken  part  in  the  conspiracy  and  its  melan- 
choly consequences.  Many  have  proved  by  a  glorious  death, 
that  they  knew  their  duty.  Others,  as  we  learn  by  the  report 
of  the  Grand  Duke,  have  been  forced,  with  tears  of  despair, 
to  return  to  the  places  occupied  by  the  rebels.  These  last, 
together  with  the  misguided,  compose,  no  doubt,  a  great  part 
of  the  army  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland. 
We  have  addressed  ourselves  to  them  by  a  proclamation  on 
the  17th  of  this  month,  in  which,  manifesting  our  just  indig- 
nation against  the  perjured  men  who  have  commenced  this 
rebellion,  we  gave  orders  to  put  an  end  to  all  illegal  arma- 
ments, and  to. restore  every  thing  to  its  former  footing. 
They  have  yet  time,  then,  to  repair  the  fault  of  their  compa- 
triots, and  to  save  the  Polish  kingdom  from  the  pernicious 
consequences  of  a  blind  criminality.  In  pointing  out  the 
only  means  of  safety,  we  make  known  this  manifestation  of 
our  benevolence  toward  our  faithful  subjects.  They  will  see 
in  it  our  wish  to  protect  the  inviolability  of  the  throne  and  of 
the  country,  as  well  as  the  firm  resolution  to  spare  misguided 
and  penitent  men.  Russians!  the  example  of  your  Emperor 
will  guide  you,  the  example  of  justice  without  vengeance,  of 
perseverance  in  the  combat  for  the  honor  and  prosperity  of 
the  empire,  without  hatred  of  adversaries,  of  love  and  regard 
for  the  subjects  of  our  kingdom  of  Poland  who  have  remained 
faithful  to  the  oath  they  have  made  to  us,  and  of  an  earnest 
desire  for  reconciliation  with  all  those  who  shall  return  to 
their  duty.  You  will  fulfil  our  hopes,  as  you  have  hitherto 
done.  Remain  in  peace  and  quietness  ;  full  of  confidence  in 
God,  the  constant  benefactor  of  Russia,  and  in  a  monarch 
who  appreciates  the  magnitude  and  the  sacredness  of  his  du- 
ties, and  who  knows  how  to  keep  inviolable  the  dignity  of 
his  empire,  and  the  honor  of  the  Russian  people. 

*  Given  at  St  Petersburgh  the  twenty-fourth  of  the  month 
pf  December,  1830.  (Signed)  'Nicholas.' 


82  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

pending  after  Poland  should  be  crushed.*  Colonel 
Wielezynski  returned  from  St  Petersburgh  in  the 
latter  part  of  December,  bringing  with  him  the 
proclamation  which  has  already  been  given  to  the 
reader,  and  which,  being  published,  was  received 
by  the  people  with  the  utmost  indignation.  It 
was  an  insult  to  the  honor  and  character  of  the 
nation,  which  demanded  vengeance.  The  day  of 
the  promulgation  of  this  document  was  a  day  of 
terrible  agitation.  The  cry  of  *  To  battle  !  To 
battle !'  was  heard  in  every  quarter.  The  nation 
demanded  to  be  led  against  the  enemy  at  once. 
The  word  had  gone  forth  Hhere  is  no  hope  of 
peace. 't     It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  people 

*  The  following  is  part  of  a  conversation,  in  presence  of 
the  Emperor,  between  generals  field  marshal  Diebitsch  and 
Benkendorf,  and  colonel  Wielezynski,  (one  of  the  deputies 
sent  by  the  Polish  Dictator,)  at  the  close  of  a  short  interview, 
which  took  place  at  a  council  on  the  affairs  of  state  to  which 
those  generals  had  been  called  by  the  Emperor. 

*Well,  gentlemen  of  Poland,'  said  marshal  Diebitsch, 
*your  revolution  has  not  even  the  merit  of  being  well  timed. 
You  have  risen  at  the  moment  when  the  whole  force  of  the 
empire  was  on  the  march  toward  your  frontiers,  to  bring 
the  revolutionary  spirits  of  France  and  Belgium  to  order.' 

When  the  colonel  observed  that  Poland  thought  herself 
capable  of  arresting  the  torrent  long  enough  to  give  Europe 
the  alarm,  and  to  prepare  her  for  the  struggle,  marshal  Die- 
bitsch answered, 

*  Well,  what  will  you  gain  by  the  result  1  We  had  calcu- 
lated to  make  our  campaign  on  the  Rhine  ;  we  shall  now 
make  it  on  the  Elbe  or  the  Oder,  having  crushed  you  first. 
Consider  this  well.' 

t  According  to  the  testimony  of  colonel  Wielezynski,  the 
proclamation  of  the  Emperor  was  in  entire  contradiction  to 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  83 

could  be  restrained  from  rushing  at  once  to  the 
field  and  be  persuaded  to  wait  for  a  convocation  of 
the  Diet  fixed  on  the  17th  of  January.  This  delay 
w^as  another  error,  for  the  time  vv^hich  intervened 
was  uselessly  employed.  This  Diet  in  the  opinion 
of  the  nation  could  decide  upon  nothing  short  of 
war.  Upon  a  just  interpretation  of  the  spirit  of 
the  Emperor's  proclamation,  no  other  course  could 
be  taken  consistently  with  the  national  honor.  It 
was  in  consequence  of  this  proclamation,  of  so 
criminatory,  so  unjust,  so  insulting  a  character, 
that  Nicholas  Romanoff  and  his  successors  were 
declared  to  have  forfeited  all  claims  to  the  throne 
of  Poland,  and  that  that  throne  w^as  declared  va- 
cant. The  Poles  could  no  longer  submit  to  a 
King,  who,  far  from  being  willing  to  hear  their 
complaints,  far  from  guarantying  the  rights  se- 
cured by  the  constitution,  went  the  length  of 
insulting  that  national  honor  to  which  all  history 
has  borne  testimony.  To  what  a  future  must 
Poland,  under  such  a  king,  have  looked  forward. 

the  sentiments  he  expressed  in  the  conversation  above  men- 
tioned. The  tone  of  that  conversation  was  anything  but  se- 
vere. He  even  conceded  that  the  Poles  had  just  reason  to 
be  discontented,  and  admitted  many  of  the  barbarities  of  his 
brother,  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine.  He  promised  colonel 
Wielezynski  that  he  would  act  with  the  strictest  justice,  and 
vrould  consider  it  a  duty  to  inquire  scrupulously  into,  and 
carefully  distinguish  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  in 
regard  to  which  a  manifesto  should  shortly  be  published.  As 
he  took  leave  of  the  colonel,  in  presence  of  Diebitsch  and 
Benkendorf,  he  declared  that  he  loved  and  esteemed  the 
Poles,  and  that  these  his  feelings  should  be  the  basis  of  his 
course  with  regard  to  them.  How  inconsistent  such  lan- 
guage with  that  of  the  proclamation ! 


84  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Better  were  it  to  risk  the  bloodiest  conflict,  nay, 
to  be  buried  under  the  ruins  of  our  country,  than 
to  remain  the  vile  slaves  of  a  man,  who,  relying  on 
the  force  which  he  could  control,  was  willing  to 
take  advantage  of  his  strength  to  be  unjust. 

The  Diet  demanded  of  general  Chlopicki  an 
account  of  his  trust,  in  regard  to  the  military  and 
civil  administration  generally,  and  in  a  particular 
manner  in  regard  to  the  preparation  of  the  forces. 
The  result  of  this  inquiry  was  to  satisfy  them  that 
there  had  been  a  general  negligence  of  his  duties, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  increase  and  organiza- 
tion of  the  army.  On  examining  the  military 
reports,  it  was  found  that  only  the  fifth  part  of  the 
amount  of  force  ordered  to  be  levied,  was  as  yet 
enrolled.  Two  months  had  been  wasted.  The 
Dictator,  as  has  been  already  stated,  occupied  him- 
self principally  with  diplomatic  affairs,  and  seemed 
to  forget  that  the  country  was  to  be  defended.  The 
Diet  saw  that  general  Chlopicki  was  hoping  to  fin- 
ish the  war  by  conferences,  and  that  his  eagerness 
for  peace  was  betraying  him  into  a  forgetfulness 
of  what  was  due  to  the  national  honor.  In  fine,  a 
correspondence  with  the  Emperor  Nicholas  was 
found  to  have  been  carried  on  by  him.* 

*  Some  letters  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  were  found  among 
the  papers  of  Chlopicki,  in  which  the  Emperor  expressed  his 
thanks  to  him  for  having  taken  the  Dictatorship,  and  for  the 
service  which  he  had  done  to  him,  by  the  preservation  of 
public  tranquillity.  The  emperor  exhorted  him  to  follow 
*the  conditions  which  had  been  prescribed  to  him.'  The 
conditions  here  referred  to  could  not  be  found. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  85 

The  Dictator,  it  was  seen,  had  been  equally 
neglectful  of  the  different  fortifications.  Except 
at  the  principal  points,  Praga,  Zamosc,  and  Mod- 
lin,  no  works  of  defence  had  been  constructed. 
The  important  places  of  Serock,  and  Zegrz,  the 
former  on  the  Narew,  and  the  latter  below  the 
confluence  of  the  Narew  and  the  Bug,  were  for- 
gotten, as  were  all  the  positions  on  the  great  road 

The  reader  will  permit  me  to  dwell,  for  a  moment,  upon 
the  mode  of  conduct,  on  the  part  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas, 
which  is  here  indicated. 

What  conditions  could  Nicholas  propose  to  the  Dictator, 
which  the  nation  should  not  know  of?  If  those  conditions 
were  compatible  with  justice  and  with  the  honor  of  the  na- 
tion, why  was  all  this  secrecy  necessary  1  If  they  were 
incompatible  with  justice  and  our  honor,  the  Dictator  cer- 
tainly could  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  make  the  nation  ac- 
cept of  them.  On  the  contrary,  the  nation  who  had  given 
him  its  confidence,  the  moment  that  it  should  have  been 
convinced  that  the  Dictator  had  intended  to  compromise  its 
honor,  would  have  despised  him  as  a  traitor,  and  he  would 
have  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  its  indignation.  To  wish  to  in- 
duce him,  on  his  own  responsibility,  to  commit  acts  contrary 
to  the  honor  of  the  nation,  is  to  be  willing,  for  selfish  ends, 
to  induce  him  to  do  that  which  would  render  him  infamous 
in  history. 

Is  this  a  course  becoming  a  King  1  A  conduct  so  insin- 
cere, Machiavelian,  and  even  malignant,  is  based  on  the 
system  of  intrigue,  and  is  in  correspondence  with  the  ac- 
customed policy  of  the  Russian  cabinet,  —  a  policy  which 
has  always  brought  divisions  and  misery  upon  the  nations 
who  have  been  under  her  power.  Such  a  system,  however, 
is  far  from  being  ultimately  favorable  to  the  interests  of 
Russia  herself,  for  it  can  never  lead  to  a  sure  result.  Soon- 
er or  later  duplicity  will  be  discovered,  and  the  more  a  na- 
tion has  been  deceived,  the  deeper  will  be  its  determination 
of  vengeance. 

The  letters  referred  to,  which,  I   believe,  are  now  in  the 
hands  of  some  of  our  countrymen,  will  be,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  a  new  justification  of  our  revolution. 
11 


86  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

which  leads  from  Warsaw  to  Brzese,  upon  which, 
or  in  its  vicinity,  our  principal  operations  were  to 
be  executed.  No  point  on  the  frontier  was 
strengthened.  The  country  was  left  entirely  open. 
The  Diet,  considering  all  these  circumstances, 
resolved  to  send  a  deputation  to  the  Dictator,  to 
demand  of  him,  for  the  last  time,  what  his  inten- 
tions were,  and  to  require  of  him  to  take  the  field 
forthwith.  As  the  Dictator  would  not  submit  him- 
self to  this  expression  of  the  will  of  the  Diet,  and 
even  opened  to  prince  Adam  Czartoriski,  who  was 
one  of  that  deputation,  propositions  deemed  incon- 
sistent with  the  national  honor, — the  Diet  deprived 
him  of  his  trust. 

The  affairs  of  the  civil  administration  were  con- 
fided, as  before  the  dictatorship,  to  the  senate, 
under  the  presidency  of  prince  Czartoriski,  and 
the  command  in  chief  of  the  army  was  given  to 
the  prince  Michael  Radzivil.  All  these  powers 
were  subordinate  to  the  Diet.  In  this  manner 
ended  the  dictatorship  of  Chlopicki,  who  after- 
wards took  a  place  in  the  suite  of  prince  Radzivil, 
and  was  admitted  into  the  counsels  of  the  admin- 
istration of  military  affairs. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Remarks  on  the  policy  of  the  late  Dictator. — System  of  operations 
adopted. — The  army  leaves  Warsaw. — Statement  of  the  existing 
forces. — Of  the  forces  proposed  to  be  raised. — Unfortunate  conse- 
quences of  the  delay  in  the  preparation  of  the  forces. — Statement  of 
the  force  with  which  the  war  was  actually  commenced. 

The  dictatorship  had  exercised  a  most  unpropi- 
tious   influence  upon  our  affairs.^     Every  move- 

*  The  dictatorship  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  first  of 
our  misfortunes.  The  Dictator,  acting  in  contradiction  to 
the  spirit  of  the  revolution,  did  not  take  advantage  of  that 
enthusiasm  with  which  the  revolution  commenced  and  by 
which  prodigies  might  have  been  achieved.  But  not  only 
did  he  neglect  to  make  use  of  that  enthusiasm,  or  to  foster 
it,  he  even  took  measures  which  had  a  tendency  to  repress 
it.  The  first  fault  with  which  he  was  reproached  by  the 
Patriotic  Club,  was  his  having  given  permission  to  the 
Grand  Duke  to  leave  the  kingdom  with  his  corps,  taking 
with  them  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  which  were  really 
Polish  property.  The  retaining  of  the  Grand  Duke  would 
have  been  of  the  greatest  importance  to  us.  No  historian 
could  have  blamed  such  an  act ;  for  if  the  justice  of  our  re- 
volution be  once  acknowledged,  every  energetic  and  decisive 
act  which  would  favor  its  happy  result  must  also  be  justified 
in  the  view  of  history.  The  Russians  indeed  have  regarded 
our  conduct  on  this  point  as  an  indication  of  weakness  and 
timidity  rather  than  as  an  act  of  delicacy  and  magnanimity, 
in  which  light  Chlopicki  intended  that  it  should  be  con- 
sidered. That  same  corps,  attached  to  the  Grand  Duke, 
consisting,  as  we  have  said,  of  7,000  men  and  24  cannon, 
with  the  Grand  Duke  himself,  did  not  regard  it  in  this  light, 
for  they  fought  against  us  in  the  very  first  battle.  Another 
fault  of  general  Chlopicki  was,  not  to  have  taken  immedi- 
ately the  oflTensive,  passed  the  Bug,  and  entered  the  brother 
provinces  which  had  been  incorporated  with  Russia.  The 
Russian  troops,  especially  those  in  Lithuania,  were  not  in 
a  state  to  resist  the  first  impetuosity  of  our  national  forces. 


88  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

merit  had  been  retarded,  and  the  most  invaluable 
time  was  lost.     Instead   of  offensive  operations, 

The  Russian  soldiers,  as  the  reader  probably  knows,  are 
not,  except  in  the  large  cities,  concentrated  in  barracks,  as 
in  other  states  of  Europe,  but  are  dispersed  in  quarters 
throughout  the  country,  in  small  bodies ;  so  that  sometimes 
a  single  regiment  may  be  spread  to  a  circumference  which 
may  embrace  eighty  to  a  hundred  villages,  with  perhaps 
from  ten  to  thirty  soldiers  only,  in  each.  In  fact,  the 
soldiers  of  a  company  may  have  often  from  six  to  twelve 
miles  march  to  reach  the  quarters  of  their  captain.  All 
this  made  the  concentration  of  these  forces  an  affair  of  time 
and  difficulty  ;  and  one  regiment  after  another  could  have 
been  fallen  upon,  and  their  vi'hole  forces  annihilated  in  de- 
tail, and  that  without  much  effusion  of  blood.  Besides  this, 
the  Russian  corps  of  Lithuania  was  composed,  in  part,  of 
our  brethren  enrolled  in  that  province,  and  even  commanded, 
in  part,  by  officers  natives  of  that  province.  They  would 
of  course  have  united  themselves  with  us,  and  the  revolution 
would  have  spread,  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  to  the 
very  borders  of  the  Dwina  and  the  Dnieper  ;  and  after  this, 
not  four  millions  alone,  but  sixteen  millions  of  Poles,  would 
have  been  united  in  one  cause.  At  a  later  period,  all  this 
was  no  longer  possible.  Russia  began  to  become  alive  to 
the  danger  of  the  occurrence  of  such  a  state  of  things,  and 
all  the  regiments  with  Polish  soldiers  in  their  ranks  were 
w^ithdrawn  into  the  interior,  and  three  hundred  Polish  offi- 
cers in  the  Russian  service  were  sent  to  take  commands  in 
regiments  posted  in  the  regions  about  the  Caucasus,  in  Asia. 
The  Dictator,  who  gave  as  a  reason  for  not  having  taken 
the  above  course,  that  the  neighboring  cabinets  would  have 
taken  umbrage  at  it  as  a  violation  of  a  foreign  territory, 
can  with  difficulty  be  conceived  to  have  really  felt  that  this 
would  have  been  the  case.  Even  if  such  aprjirehensions 
w^ere  well  founded,  are  diplomatic  formalities  to  be  regard- 
ed, on  an  occasion  like  this  ?  Should  we,  in  such  a  cause, 
forbear,  from  apprehensions  of  this  kind,  to  press  on  to  the 
delivery  of  our  brethren  from  the  despotism  under  which 
they  were  suffering?  But,  in  fact,  the  true  interests  of  those 
cabinets  were  to  be  found  in,  what  every  sagacious  observer 
of  European  history  has  pointed  out  as  the  great  safeguard  of 
Europe,  the  establishment  of  the  Polish  kingdom  as  a  bar- 
rier against  the  threatening  preponderance  of  our  barbarous 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  89 

the  defensive  was  now  necessarily  taken.  We 
awaited  the  enemy  on  our  native  soil,  and  exposed 
that  soil  to  his  insults  and  outrages.  Even,  how- 
ever, at  this  point,  the  patriots  called  on  the  gov- 
ernment to  take  the  offensive,  but  it  was  too  late. 
An  immense  Russian  army  was  concentrated  upon 
our  frontiers,  and  was  ready  to  pass  them.  Our 
forces  were  not  strong  enough  to  defend  every 
point  against  the  enemy's  entrance.  It  was  de- 
cided to  keep  our  troops  concentrated,  and  present- 
ing to  him  always  a  narrow  and  recurvated  front, 
to  lead  the  enemy  to  the  environs  of  Warsaw,  and 
to  give  him  a  decisive  battle  there.  On  about  the 
20th  of  January,  the  prince  Radzivil  renewed  the 
orders  for  the  most  rapid  organization  of  all  the 

enemy.  It  was  indeed  ridiculous  to  require  of  the  Poles 
that  they  should  regard,  as  their  only  limits,  the  little  king- 
dom into  which  the  violence  and  fraud  of  the  combined 
sovereigns  had  contracted  them.  The  Poles,  in  entering 
those  provinces,  would  have  been  still  on  the  soil  of  their 
ancient  country ;  and,  in  fact,  the  revolution  was  equally 
justifiable  at  Wilna,  Kiow,  and  Smolensk,  as  at  Warsaw. 
The  patriots,  indeed,  who  began  the  latter,  did  not  think  of 
their  own  sufferings  alone,  they  bore  in  mind  also  the  even 
greater  sufferings  of  their  brethren  who  were  more  absolute- 
ly in  the  power  of  despotism.  It  was  indeed  the  great  end 
of  the  patriots  and  of  the  nation,  the  union  of  all  the  prov- 
inces of  ancient  Poland,  which  was  abandoned  by  the  Dic- 
tator. Nothing  else,  in  fact,  but  the  forcing  of  the  frontiers, 
would  have  subdued  the  arrogance  of  the  Emperor,  and 
forced  him  to  listen  to  our  claims.  The  unanimous  voice  of 
sixteen  millions  of  Poles  could  not  have  safely  been  despised. 
This  compulsory  amelioration  of  our  condition  would  have 
also  spared  Nicholas  the  remorse  with  which  he  must  reflect 
on  the  sacrifice  of  nearly  200,000  lives,  and  the  death  or 
suffering  to  which  he  has  condemned,  and  is  still  condemn- 
ing, the  best  spirits  of  Poland. 


90  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

different  corps,  and  directed  those  corps  which 
were  already  organized  to  hold  themselves  in  readi- 
ness for  marching.  A  division  of  lancers  which 
was  in  the  environs  of  Siedlce,  augmented  by  some 
regiments  of  newly  raised  light  cavalry,  occupied, 
as  a  corps  of  observation,  all  the  country  between 
Wlodawa  and  Ciechanowiec,  and  were  ordered  to 
watch  every  movement  of  the  enemy  in  that  re- 
gion. On  about  the  25th  of  January,  the  troops 
began  to  leave  Warsaw  and  the  other  towns  of  the 
department,  and  to  concentrate  themselves  upon 
a  line  embracing  the  towns  of  Siedlce,  Ostrolenka, 
and  Lukow.^ 

*  I  cannot  forbear  to  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  the  occa- 
sion of  the  departure  of  our  troops  from  Warsaw  and  the 
other  towns.  It  was  one  of  the  fine  and  touching  moments 
of  our  revolution.  Every  friend  of  liberty  would  have  de- 
sired to  have  brought  together  all  the  autocrats  of  the  world 
to  witness  the  animation  with  which  our  national  troops 
went  forth  to  engage  in  the  combat  for  liberty.  Perhaps 
they  would  have  been  involuntarily  struck  with  the  convic- 
tion that  this  liberty  must  be  a  blessing  when  men  will  sacri- 
fice themselves  so  cheerfully  to  achieve  it.  When  the  march 
was  commenced,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighboring  country 
left  their  homes  to  witness  the  departure,  and  all  the  plains 
about  Warsaw  and  the  road  sides  between  Warsaw  and 
Siedlce  were  covered  with  people.  The  soldiers,  in  march- 
ing through  the  streets  of  the  city,  passed  between  lines  of 
people  composed  of  senators,  officers  of  the  government, 
the  clergy,  children  from  the  schools,  the  members  of  the 
national  guard,  and  in  short  an  immense  assembly  of  both 
sexes,  reaching  even  to  two  miles  beyond  Praga.  All  the 
regiments  passed  in  review  before  the  general  in  chief,  and 
each  regiment  took  the  oath  to  defend  their  country  to  the 
last  drop  of  their  blood.  Exclamations  such  as  these  were 
constantly  uttered  :  '  Dear  General,  if  you  see  us  turn  from 
before  the  enemy,  point  the  artillery  against  us,  and  annihi- 
late our  ranks.'  The  fourth  regiment,  the  bravest  of  the 
brave,  knowing  that  our  magazines  were  ill  provided  with 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  91 


STATEMENT  OF  THE  EXISTING  ARMY,  AND  OF  THE  NEW  FORCES 
PROPOSED  TO  BE  LEVIED. 

The  whole  Polish  force  under  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment, consisted,  of  Infantry^  nine  regiments  of 
two  battalions  each,  19,000  men,  and  a  battalion  of 
sappers  of  1,000  men,  in  all  20,000  ;  Cavalry^  nine 
regiments  of  four  squadrons  each  ;  in  all,  7,200  ; 
Artillery^  six  batteries  of  eight  pieces  each,  and 
two  batteries  of  light  artillery,  also,  of  eight  pieces 
each  ;  in  all,  sixty-four  pieces.  According  to  the 
plans  of  the  Dictator,  the  infantry  was  to  be  aug- 
mented in  the  following  manner.  To  each  of  the 
existing  regiments  was  to  be  added  a  battalion  of 
1,000,  making  a  total  of  9,000  men.  He  then 
proposed  to  form  fifteen  new  regiments,  thus  in- 
creasing the  number  of  regiments  of  infantry  to 

powder,  refused  at  first  to  receive  any  cartridges ;  but  on 
the  remonstrance  of  the  chief,  they  agreed  to  take  thirty 
each  man,  (half  of  the  compliment  for  one  battle,)  sftyingthat 
they  would  furnish  themselves  afterwards  from  the  Russians. 
They  then  entreated  the  commander  in  chief  never  to  send 
them  against  a  smaller  body  of  the  enemy  than  a  division, 
and  to  use  them  wherever  a  decisive  blow  was  required. 
*  Forget,  dear  general,'  said  they,  '  that  we  have  no  pow- 
der ;  but  trust  to  our  bayonets  !' 

It  was  truly  affecting  to  witness  the  parting  of  the  sol- 
diers from  their  friends  and  relatives,  —  fathers  taking  leave 
of  children,  children  of  fathers,  husbands  of  wives,  —  and 
to  hear  the  cries  of  sorrow  mingled  with  animating  shouts 
and  patriotic  hymns.  These  are  moments  of  which  I  am 
unequal  to  the  description ;  but  which  evey  freeman  will 
form  a  conception  of,  —  moments  of  the  struggle  between 
domestic  happiness  and  public  duty  ;  moments  which  show 
that  the  love  of  country  is  the  most  powerful  of  all  senti- 
ments, and  that  men  will  sacrifice  every  thing  under  its  im- 
pulses. 


92  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

twenty-four.  Each  one  of  the  new  regiments  was 
to  be  composed  of  three  battalions  of  1,000  men 
each.  The  total  of  these  new  regiments  would 
then  have  been  45,000  men,  and  the  grand  total 
of  the  new  levy  would  be  54,000  men.  This 
body  of  recruits  was  to  be  made  up  from  those  of 
the  exempts  (their  term  of  service^  having  ex- 
pired) who  were  yet  under  the  age  of  forty,  and 
from  all  others  under  that  age,  and  above  that  of 
sixteen. 

Of  this  force,  six  thousand  men  was  to  be  fur- 
nished by  Warsaw,  and  an  equal  number  by  each 
of  the  eight  palatinates.  Besides  this  force,  the 
enrollment  of  a  national  guard  at  Warsaw  of  10,000 
men  was  ordered  ;  and  in  forming  this  body,  no 
exemption  was  admitted  except  from  age  or  bodily 
infirmity.  Each  of  the  eight  palatinates  was  also 
to  enroll  a  national  guard  of  a  thousand  men. 
Thus  the  whole  national  guard  was  to  consist  of 
18,000  men. 

The  cavalry  was  to  be  augmented  as  follows. 
From  the  whole  gend'armerie,  it  was  proposed  to 
form  a  regiment  of  carabiniers,  consisting  of  two 
squadrons  of  two  hundred  men  each.  To  the  nine 
existing  regiments  of  cavalry  it  was  proposed  to 
add,  as  a  reserve,  four  squadrons  of  two  hundred 
each,  making,  in  all,  eight  hundred.  Ten  new 
regiments  were  to  be  formed,  of  four  squadrons 

*  A  service  of  ten  years  in  the  army,  in  person,  or  by 
substitute,  was  required  by  law  of  every  citizen. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  93 

each  ;  so  that  the  whole  number  of  old  and  new 
cavalry  would  be  twenty  regiments.  The  whole 
augmentation  of  this  army  would  amount  to  9,200. 
The  raising  of  this  force,  as  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
fantry, was  to  be  equally  divided  between  Warsaw 
and  each  of  the  eight  palatinates. 

The  artillery  was  to  be  augmented  by  four  bat- 
teries, of  eight  pieces  each,  making  a  total  of 
thirty-two  pieces. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Infantry.      Cavalry.  Artillery. 

New  forces,  54,000     9,200   32  pieces. 

Existing  forces,  19,000     7,200    64 


Total,  73,000  16,400  96 

If  we  should  add  to  this  number 
the  regiments  formed  by  the  land 
proprietors  at  their  own  expense, 
detachments  of  volunteers,  for- 
eigners, and  detachments  of  par- 
tizans,  amounting  perhaps  to  6,000     2,000 


The  total  might  be  increased  to     79,000     18,400  96 

This  force,  although  it  would  seem  to  be  dis- 
proportionate to  the  resources  of  the  kingdom,  it 
was  certainly  possible  to  have  raised ;  for  the 
energy  and  spirit  of  the  people  were  at  the  highest 
point,  and  every  one  felt  the  importance  of  im- 
proving the  favorable  moment,  which  the  general 
state  of  Europe,  and  the  weakness  of  Russia,  pre- 
sented. If  the  reader  will  anticipate  the  course 
of  events,  and  remember  what  a  struggle,  against 
the  Russian  force  of  more  than  200,000  men,  was 
12 


94  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

sustained  by  the  40,000  only  which  we  actually 
brought  into  the  field,  he  may  conjecture  what 
advantages  might  have  been  expected  from  twice 
that  number,  which  we  should  certainly  have 
brought  to  the  field,  had  the  energy  of  the  govern- 
ment followed  out  its  plans.  But  from  the  inca- 
pacity of  the  Dictator  for  the  energetic  execution 
of  his  trust,  these  forces  were  never  raised,  and 
it  was  soon  seen  that  Chlopicki,  by  assuming  a 
duty  to  which  he  was  unequal,  gave  the  first  blow^ 
to  the  rising  fortunes  of  his  country.  The  Dicta- 
tor, as  we  have  seen,  had  not  even  taken  a  step 
towards  the  organization  of  these  forces,  and  one 
w^ould  have  thought  that  he  had  thrown  out  these 
plans  merely  to  blind  the  eyes  of  the  nation,  with- 
out having  entertained  the  thoug-ht  of  taking  the 
field.  Two  months  passed  away,  the  inevitable 
moment  of  the  conflict  arrived,  and  the  nation  was 
obliged  to  march  to  the  fight  with  half  the  force 
which,  under  an  energetic  administration,  it  would 
have  wielded.  If  we  add  to  this  unfortunate  state 
of  things,  that,  besides  the  threatening  forces  of 
our  gigantic  enemy,  Prussia  and  Austria,  at  this 
late  moment,  and  especially  the  former,  had  began 
to  take  an  attitude  of  hostility  towards  us,  and 
thus  all  hope  of  sympathy  from  her  neighbors  was 
lost  to  Poland,  the  perilous  nature  of  the  crisis  to 
which  the  delay  of  the  dictatorial  government  had 
brought  us,  thus  unprepared,  may  be  imagined. 
But  Poland  did  not  suffer  herself  to  be  discouraged 
by  all  these  unpropitious  circumstances.     Trusting 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  95 

to  the  righteousness  of  her  cause,  she  went  forth 
to  the  contest,  determined  to  fall  or  to  be  free. 

STATEMENT    OF  THE    FORCES  WITH    WHICH    THE    WAR  WAS    AC- 
TUALLY   COMMENCED. 

A  great  exactitude  in  the  computation  of  these 
forces  would  be  obviously  impracticable,  as  the 
precise  number  of  the  detachments  of  volunteers, 
occasionally  joining  the  army,  serving  in  a  partic- 
ular locality  only,  and  often  perhaps  for  a  limited 
period,  cannot  be  ascertained ;  but  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  make  a  pretty  near  approximation  to 
the  truth. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  the  forces 
were  divided  into  four  divisions  of  infantry,  four 
of  cavalry,  and  twelve  batteries  of  artillery,  of 
eight  pieces  each. 

The  whole  infantry  consisted  of : 
The  nine  existing  regiments,  enlarged 

by  one  battalion  to  each    regiment, 

making  in  all,  27,000 

One  battalion  of  sappers,  1,000 

A  tenth  regiment,  of  two  battalions, 

called  '  The  Children  of  Warsaw,'  2,000 

A  battalion  of  volunteers,  added  to  the 

4th  regiment,  1,000 

Different  detachments  of  volunteers,  as 

the  detachments  of  Michael  Kuszel, 

and  the  Kurpie  or  Foresters,  &c,  1,600 


Total  of  infantry,  32,600 


9G  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  four  divisions  of  infantry  were  nearly  equal, 
consisting  of  from  7  to  8,000  men  each.  To  each 
of  these  divisions  a  corps  of  250  sappers  was  at- 
tached. The  divisions  were  commanded  as  fol- 
lows;  1st  division  by  general  Krukowiecki ;  2d 
division,  general  Zymirski ;  3d  division,  general 
Skrzynecki ;  4th  division,  general  Szembek. 
The  cavalry  consisted  of  the  nine  existing 

regiments,  7,200 

Four  squadrons,  added  to  these  as  a  reserve,     800 
Two  squadrons  of  carabiniers,  400 

Two  regiments  of  krakus  or  light  cavalry, 

of  Podlasia  and  Lublin,  1,600 

Two  regiments  of  Mazurs,  1,600 

Six  squadrons  of  Kaliszian  cavalry,  1,200 

Two  squadrons  of  lancers  of  Zamoyski,  400 


Total  of  cavalry,  13,200 

This  cavalry,  which  was  composed  of  66  squad- 
rons, was  divided  into  four  nearly  equal  bodies. 
They  were  commanded  as  follows.  1st  division, 
by  general  Uminski,  consisting  of  15  squadrons; 
2d  division,  general  Stryinski,  15  squadrons  ;  3d 
division,  general  Lubinski,  15  squadrons;  4th  di- 
vision, making  the  reserve,  under  general  Pac,  17 
squadrons.  Besides  those  divisions,  four  squad- 
rons were  designated  for  the  corps  of  general 
Dwernicki. 

The  artillery  was  divided  into  12  batteries  of 
eight  pieces  each,  making  in  all  96  pieces. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  97 

The  general  statement  of  the  forces  with  which 
the  campaign  was  commenced  is  then  as  follows : 

Infantry,  32,600.  Cavalry,  13,200.  Artillery, 
96  pieces. 

This  incredibly  small  number  marched  to  the 
combat  against  a  Russian  force  of  at  least  200,000 
men  and  300  cannon.  In  fact,  by  the  reports  of 
field  marshal  Diebitsch,  found  after  his  retreat, 
and  the  detailed  statements  confidently  made  in 
the  Berlin  Gazette,  the  Russian  forces  amounted 
to  300,000  ;  but  we  reject  one  third  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  regiments  had  not  been  entirely 
completed.  If  the  very  thought  of  commencing  a 
war  with  such  disproportionate  means,  against  so 
overwhelming  a  force,  should  seem  to  the  reader 
to  be  little  better  than  madness,  he  will  appreciate 
the  energy  and  courage  with  which  it  was  sup- 
ported, when  he  learns  that  in  twenty  days,  from 
the  10th  of  February  to  the  2d  of  March,  thirteen 
sanguinary  battles  were  fought  with  the  enemy, 
besides  twice  that  number  of  small  skirmishes,  in 
which,  as  we  shall  see,  that  enemy  was  uniformly 
defeated,  and  a  full  third  part  of  his  forces  anni- 
hilated. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Entrance  of  the  Russian  forces  into  the  Kingdom.  —  Proclamations  of 
Marshal  Diebitsch.  —  Their  effect.  —  Disposition  of  the  Russian  and 
Polish  forces.  —  Plan  of  operations  of  the  Poles. 

The  Russian  forces,  simultaneously  with  the  Po- 
lish, began  to  concentrate  themselves  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  the  kingdom,  (See  Plan  No,\)  particularly 
at  Bialystok  (11)  and  Grodno  (10).  Four  general 
points  were  designated  for  the  entrance  of  this 
enormous  force,  viz.  Zlotoria  (12),  Ciechanowiec 
(9),  Brzesc  (8),  and  Wlodawa  (7). 

Marshal  Diebitsch,  on  entering  the  kingdom, 
published  a  proclamation  to  the  Poles,  a  copy  of 
which  is  given  in  the  note.* 

*  Proclamation  of  the  Field  Marshal  Count  Diebitsch  Zabalk- 
anshy  to  the  Poles. 

Poles!  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  King,  our  august 
sovereign,  has  confided  to  me  the  command  of  the  troops 
destined  to  put  an  end  to  the  deplorable  disorders  which 
afflict  the  kingdom  of  Poland.  The  proclamation  of  his 
majesty  the  Emperor  and  King  has  already  apprised  you 
that  the  Emperor  has  wished,  in  his  generosity,  to  distinguish 
his  faithful  subjects  who  have  respected  their  oaths,  from  the 
guilty  instigators  of  disorder  who  have  sacrificed  to  their 
odious  ambition  the  interests  of  a  happy  and  peaceful  com- 
munity. Nay,  more,  he  wishes  to  extend  his  benevolence 
and  his  clemency  to  the  unfortunate  persons  who  through 
weakness  or  fear  have  lent  themselves  as  the  accomplices 
of  a  deplorable  enterprize.  Poles !  Hear  the  voice  of  your 
Sovereign  and  your  father,  the  successor  of  the  august  re- 
storer of  your  country,  who  like  him  has  always  desired  your 
happiness.  Even  the  guilty  will  experience  the  effects  of 
his  magnanimity,  if  they  will  trust  to  it  with  confidence. 


'•  /'*♦• 


■^ 


'^1 


'■,  {I   ,V  I  I',  n 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  99 

Those  proclamations  were  published  in  the  latter 
part  of  January.     The  people  were  disgusted  with 

Those  only  who  have  dipped  their  hands  in  blood,  and  those 
who  still  more  guilty  perhaps,  have  excited  others  to  do  this, 
will  meet  the  just  punishment  to  which  the  law  condemns 
them. 

1.  At  the  moment  of  entering  with  the  troops  which  I 
command  into  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  I  wish  to  convince 
you  of  the  principles  which  will  guide  all  my  steps.  A  faith- 
ful soldier,  and  a  conscientious  executor  of  the  orders  of  my 
sovereign,  I  will  never  depart  from  them.  The  peaceful 
inhabitants  who  shall  receive  us  as  friends  and  brothers,  will 
find  their  friendly  dispositions  reciprocated  by  the  troops 
placed  under  my  orders.  The  soldiers  "will  pay  a  fair  price 
for  every  thing  which  shall  be  furnished  to  them,  and  if  cir- 
cumstances require  that  the  troops  shall  be  provisioned  by 
the  inhabitants,  or  if  we  shall  be  forced  to  make  requisitions 
(which  we  shall  endeavor  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible,)  in 
such  cases  the  inhabitants  will  leceive  payment  in  printed 
certificates,  which  will  be  taken  as  money  at  the  offices  for 
the  payment  of  imposts.  Prices  will  be  established  for  the 
provisions  furnished  according  to  the  current  value  of  the 
articles  in  the  different  districts. 

2.  On  the  approach  of  the  Russian  troops,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  towns  and  villages,  who  have  taken  arms  in  obedience 
to  the  orders  of  the  government  which  has  been  illegally  in- 
stituted, will  be  required  to  surrender  their  arms  to  the  local 
authorities,  if  those  latter  shall  have  returned  to  their  duties. 
In  other  cases,  they  will  be  required  to  give  up  their  arms 
upon  the  entrance  of  the  troops  of  his  majesty  the  Emperor 
and  King. 

3.  Every  inhabitant,  who,  forgetting  the  duties  which  he 
owes  to  his  sovereign,  shall  persevere  in  the  revolt,  and  shall 
be  taken  with  arms  in  his  hands,  will  have  to  meet  the  utmost 
rigor  of  the  law.  Those  who  shall  attempt  to  defend  them- 
selves against  the  troops,  shall  be  delivered  over  to  a  council 
of  war.  The  towns  and  villages  who  shall  dare  to  resist  his 
majesty  the  Emperor  and  King,  will  be  punished  according 
to  the  degree  their  resistance  shall  have  been  carried,  by  an 
extraordinary  contribution,  more  or  less  heavy.  This  con- 
tribution will  be  principally  levied  upon  those  who  shall  have 
taken  part  in  a  criminal  defence,  either  by  carrying  arms 
themselves,  or  by  exciting  others  to  that  crime.  In  case  of 
relapse  from  a  return  to  duty,  and  of  rebellion  in  the  rear  of 


■f 


IP 


100  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

their  promises  and  their  menaces,  and  rejecting 
'  all  idea  of  reconciliation  on  such  terms  as  these 

the  Russian  army,  the  insurgent  places  shall  be  treated  with 
the  utmost  military  rigor.  The  principal  instigators  shall  be 
punished  with  death,  and  the  others  exiled ;  but  the  greatest 
care  will  be  taken  to  distinguish  and  protect  those  who  shall 
have  had  no  part  in  the  crime. 

4.  To  prevent  such  evils,  I  invite  all  the  authorities,  civil 
as  well  as  military,  who  may  be  in  the  towns  and  cities,  to 
send  deputies  to  the  commanders  of  the  Russian  forces,  when 
these  forces  shall  arrive.  Such  deputations  will  bring  with 
them  as  a  sign  of  submission  to  their  legitimate  sovereign,  a 
white  flag.  They  will  be  expected  to  announce  that  the  in- 
habitants submit  themselves  to  the  benevolence  of  his  majesty 
the  Emperor  and  King,  and  that  their  arms  have  been  de- 
posited in  some  place  which  shall  be  designated.  The  Rus- 
sian commanders  will  then  take  the  necessary  measures  of 
security.  They  will  maintain  the  civil  authorities,  which  ex- 
isted before  the  revolt,  as  v/ell  as  those  which  shall  have 
been  instituted  afterwards,  if  they  have  taken  no  active  part 
in  the  rebellion.  The  sedentary  guard  of  veterans  will  be 
continued,  if  they  have  not  engaged  in  the  resistance,  or 
given  manifest  proofs  of  treason  towards  their  legitimate  sove- 
reign. All  those  authorities,  civil  as  well  as  military,  will  be 
required  to  renew  their  oaths  of  fidelity.  Conformably  to 
the  orders  of  his  majesty  the  Emperor  and  King,  an  amnesty 
and  pardon  for  the  past  will  be  given  to  all  of  those  who  shall 
submit  without  delay,  and  shall  comply  with  the  conditions 
which  have  been  above  mentioned. 

5.  The  Russian  commanders  shall  organize,  as  circum- 
stances may  require,  in  the  places  where  no  Russian  garri- 
sons may  remain,  a  civil  and  municipal  guard,  who  shall  be 
chosen  from  among  the  most  faithful  of  the  veterans,  and 
the  inhabitants  shall  be  entrusted  with  the  interior  police,  as 
far  as  may  be  necessary  to  secure  order  and  tranquillity. 

6.  The  organization  of  the  administration  of  the  pala- 
tinates, arrondissements,  and  communes,  will  remain  upon 
the  footing  on  which  it  was  before  the  insurrection.  It 
will  be  the  same  with  all  the  direct  and  indirect  taxes. 
The  authorities  will  remain  in  their  places  after  they 
shall  have  complied  with  the  above  conditions.  In  other 
cases,  new  authorities  will  be  established  by  the  choice  of  the 
commanders  of  the  Russian  forces.    That  choice  will  fall  prin- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  101 

proclamations  set  forth,  they  entreated  to  be  led 
to  the  struggle  in  which  they  had  once  decided  to 

cipally  upon  the  individuals  who  may  unite,  with  the  neces- 
sary capacity,  an  established  moral  character,  and  who  shall 
have  given  proofs  of  their  fidelity  to  their  legitimate  sove- 
reign. All  those  will  be  excluded  who  shall  have  taken  any 
part  whatever  in  the  rebellioix,  as  well  as  those  who  after 
the  entrance  of  the  Russian  troops  into  the  kingdom  shall 
persist  in  an  organized  opposition  against  legal  order.  The 
proprietors  of  land  and  houses  who  may  remain  tranquil  in 
their  habitations,  and  shall  submit  to  the  conditions  above 
announced,  will  be  protected  in  their  rights,  as  well  by  the 
local  authorities  as  by  the  Russian  troops.  In  other  cases, 
the  property  of  all  those  who  shall  remain  in  the  revolution- 
ary ranks  will  be  sequestered,  as  well  as  that  of  those  who 
shall  have  continued  to  exercise  the  functions  entrusted  to 
them  by  the  illegal  government,  or  in  some  who  shall  have 
openly  taken  part  in  the  revolt.  Such  are,  Poles,  the  prin- 
ciples which  will  direct  the  army  which  his  Majesty  has 
deigned  to  confide  to  my  command.  You  have  to  choose 
between  the  benefits  which  an  unqualified  submission  to  the 
will  of  our  magnanimous  sovereign  assures  to  you,  and  the 
evils  which  will  be  brought  upon  you  by  a  state  of  things 
without  object  as  well  as  without  hope.  I  hold  it  an  honor 
to  have  been  called  upon  to  make  known  to  you  these  res- 
olutions, emanating  from  the  generous  intentions  of  the 
Emperor  and  King.  I  shall  execute  them  scrupulously,  but 
I  shall  not  fail  to  punish  criminal  obstinacy  with  inflexible 
severity. 
(Signed)     The  Marshal  Count  Diebitsch  Zabalkansky. 

Proclamation  of  the  Count  Diebitsch  Zabalkansky  to  the 
Polish  troops. 
Generous  Poles  !  Twenty-five  years  since,  your  coun- 
try was  implicated  in  the  wars  which  the  gigantic  plans  of 
a  celebrated  conqueror  had  kindled.  The  hope,  often  awak- 
ened, and  always  disappointed,  of  an  illusory  regeneration, 
had  connected  you  with  his  fortunes.  Faithful,  although 
unfortunate,  you  answered  those  deceptive  promises  by  the 
sacrifice  of  your  blood.  There  is  scarce  a  country,  how- 
ever distant  it  may  have  been,  that  has  not  been  wet  with 
that  blood  which  you  have  prodigally  shed  for  interests  al- 
together foreign  to  the  destiny  of  your  country.  Great 
events  brought  at  last,  at  a  remarkable  epoch,  an  end  to 

13 


102  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

engage,  preferring  every  sacrifice  to  so  degrading 
a  submission.     They  demanded  that  an   answer 

your  misfortunes.  After  a  contest,  forever  memorable,  in 
which  Russia  saw  you  among  the  number  of  her  enemies, 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  of  immortal  memory,  obeying  only 
the  impulse  of  his  magnanimous  heart,  wished  to  add  to  all 
his  other  titles  to  glory,  that  of  being  the  restorer  of  your 
country.  Poland  recovered  her  name,  and  the  Polish  army 
a  new  life.  All  the  elements  of  national  welfare,  of  tran- 
quillity, and  of  prosperity,  were  miraculously  united,  and 
fifteen  years  of  uninterrupted  progress  prove,  to  this  day, 
the  greatness  of  the  benefits  for  which  your  country  is  in- 
debted to  the  paternal  solicitude  of  the  sovereign  who  was 
its  restorer,  and  to  the  no  less  earnest  concern  of  him  who 
has  so  nobly  continued  the  work  of  his  predecessor. 

Polish  AVarriors  !  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  King 
has  trusted  to  your  gratitude  and  your  fidelity.  A  short 
time  since  he  gladly  did  justice  to  your  devotedness  and  your 
good  will.  The  exemplary  conduct  of  all  the  Polish  officers, 
without  exception,  who  partook  with  our  armies  the  fatigues 
and  the  glory  of  the  Turkish  war,  had  given  a  high  satis- 
faction to  his  Majesty.  We  accepted  with  pleasure  this  fra- 
ternity of  arms  which  became  a  new  bond  between  the  Rus- 
sian and  Polish  troops.  The  best  hope  of  reciprocal  ad- 
vantages should  connect  with  that  union,  which  was  founded 
upon  all  that  is  sacred  in  military  honor.  Those  hopes 
have  been  cruelly  deceived.  A  handful  of  young  men,  who 
have  never  known  the  dangers  of  battle,  of  young  officers 
who  had  never  passed  through  a  campaign  or  even  a  march, 
have  shaken  the  fidelity  of  the  brave.  The  latter  have  seen 
committed  in  their  ranks  the  greatest  of  crimes,  the  murder 
of  their  commanders  ;  they  have  not  arrested  the  revolt 
against  their  legitimate  sovereign.  What  unhappy  blind- 
ness, what  criminal  condescension  has  been  able  ^o  induce 
these  veterans  to  permit  the  consummation  of  the  greatest 
of  offences,  and  to  join  themselves  with  those  whose  hands 
were  stained  with  blood  !  Can  it  be  possible  that  the  de- 
sign of  rendering  a  service  to  their  country  has  been  made 
for  a  moment  a  pretext  for  such  conduct  ?  That  country 
can  answer  that  for  a  long  period  she  had  never  enjoyed  so 
much  happiness.  She  had  attained  much,  and  she  could 
still  hope  much  from  her  fidelity,  and  the  support  of  pub- 
lic order.  She  exposes  herself  to  the  loss  of  all  these 
advantages  by  engaging  in  an  unequal  struggle,  in  revolting 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  103 

should  be  sent  to  Diebitsch,  informing  him  that 
they  were  ready  to  meet  him,  and  called  upon  the 

against  a  sovereign  whose  firm  and  energetic  character  is 
well  known,  and  in  braving  a  power  which  has  never  been 
defied  with  impunity. 

Polish  Warriors  !  Rebellion  would  stamp  upon  your 
front  the  stain  of  dishonor.  Put  away  from  you  such  an 
ignominy.  History  will  one  day  relate,  that,  in  the  hope  of 
serving  your  country,  you  have  been  faithful  and  devoted  to 
the  man  who  promised  you  every  thing,  and  kept  his  prom- 
ise in  nothing.  Shall  it  also  say  that,  paying  with  ingrat- 
itude and  perjury,  the  sovereign  who  has  generously  granted 
you  every  thing  which  you  had  any  right  to  hope  for,  you 
have  drawn  down  upon  your  country  new  misfortunes,  and 
upon  yourselves  an  indelible  disgrace  1  If  some  grievances 
existed,  you  should  have  had  confidence  enough  in  the  char- 
acter of  our  august  sovereign  to  have  laid  before  him  your 
complaints,  in  a  legal  manner,  and  with  that  frankness  wliicli 
characterizes  the  true  soldier.  And  I  too,  Poles,  I  speak  the 
sincere  language  of  a  soldier ;  I  have  never  known  any  other. 
Obedient  to  the  orders  of  my  sovereign,  I  reiterate,  by  his  wish- 
es, all  the  propositions  which,  in  his  clemency,  he  has  already 
made  to  you  by  his  proclamation  of  the  17th  of  December. 
Our  august  sovereign  has  witnessed,  with  marked  satisfac- 
tion, the  fidelity  of  the  brave  light-cavalry  of  the  guard,  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  guard,  and  of  the 
sub-officers  of  the  cavalry.  He  does  not  doubt  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  troops  cherished  the  desire  to  remain 
faithful  to  their  oaths,  and  that  many  others  were  hurried 
away  only  by  the  impulse  of  the  moment.  Let  each  one 
hasten  to  execute  the  orders  which  are  contained  in  the  pro- 
clamation of  his  majesty.  But  if  unforeseen  circumstances 
do  not  permit  you  to  follow  the  course  which  has  been  point- 
ed out  to  you ;  at  least,  on  the  approach  of  the  faithful  ar- 
mies of  our  common  sovereign,  remember  your  duties  and 
your  oaths.  It  is  not  as  enemies  that  the  troops  placed 
under  my  command  enter  the  kingdom  of  Poland.  It  is  on 
the  contrary  with  the  noble  object  of  re-establishing  public 
order  and  the  laws.  They  will  receive  as  brothers  all  per- 
sons, either  in  civil  or  military  life,  who  shall  return  to  their 
duties ;  but  they  will  know  how  to  subdue,  with  the  con- 
stancy and  courage  which  they  have  ever  manifested,  the 
resistance  which  evil-minded  men  may  attempt  to  oppose  to 
them,  —  men  who,  trampling  under  foot  the  sacredness  of 


104  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

government  to  commence  hostilities  without  a  mo- 
ment's delay.* 

their  oaths  and  the  laws  of  honor,  sacrifice  to  their  ambi- 
tious and  even  criminal  projects  the  dearest  interests  of  their 
country.  It  is  to  you  especially,  generals  and  colonels  of 
the  Polish  army,  that  I  address  myself  with  confidence  ;  to 
you,  whom  I  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  as  my  worthy 
brothers  in  arms.  Return  from  the  momentary  error  to 
which  you  have  been  capable  of  surrendering  yourselves, 
that  you  may,  in  joining  the  rebellious,  bring  them  back  to 
their  duties,  and  serve  your  country  without  violating  your 
oaths.  Experience  will  have  disabused  you  of  your  error  : 
return  to  the  path  of  fidelity,  and  you  will  by  that  restore 
the  happiness  of  your  country.  You  know  the  clemency  of 
our  august  sovereign :  return  to  him.  Weigh  well  the  im- 
mense responsibility  which  you  will  take  upon  your  heads 
by  a  criminal  obstinacy.  Join  yourselves  to  your  brothers 
in  arms.  Show  that  you  are  still  worthy  to  be  the  com- 
manders of  the  troops  which  your  sovereign  has  entrusted 
to  you.  You  will  be  received  as  brothers.  An  amnesty  of 
the  past  is  assured  to  you.  The  troops  which  I  command 
will  fulfil  with  loyalty  the  intentions  of  our  sovereign,  and 
the  gratitude  of  your  country,  restored  to  tranquillity,  will 
be  a  delightful  reward  for  your  return  to  your  duty.  But  if 
there  are  found  among  you  men  hardened  in  crime,  who 
cannot  be  persuaded  to  trust  in  magnanimity,  because  they 
know  not  the  elevated  sentiments  in  which  it  has  its  origin, 
let  all  the  bonds  of  military  fraternity  between  you  and  them 
be  broken  ;  the  all-powerful  hand  of  God,  the  protector  of 
the  good  cause,  will  bring  down  upon  their  heads  the  pun- 
ishment due  to  their  crimes. 

(Signed)  The  Marshal  Diebitsch  Zabalkansky. 

*  To  the  proclamations  of  general  Diebitsch,  one  of  our 
countrymen  made  a  reply,  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  which  was 
published  in  the  gazettes,  and  which,  as  far  as  my  memory 
serves  me,  was  in  nearly  the  following  terms  :  '  General,  your 
proclamations,  which  breathe  the  spirit  of  injustice,  arro- 
gance, and  cruelty — the  menacing  tone  of  which  is  backed 
by  the  colossal  force  you  have  led  to  the  invasion  of  our  ter- 
ritory, and  which  you  are  to  wield  as  an  instrument  for 
establishing  a  new  tyranny  and  inflicting  new  sufilerings 
upon  a  country  of  freemen,  —  these  proclamations,  general, 
prove  that  the  favorable  opinion  which  Europe  entertained  of 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  105 

• 

The  Russian  forces,  [See  plan  No.  1,  (a)']  con- 
sisting, as  we  have  already  mentioned,  of  about 
200,000  men  and  300  pieces  of  cannon,  had,  on 
about   the    3th   of  February,    passed   the    Polish 

you  was  ill-grounded,  and  that  you  too,  like  the  rest,  are 
willing  to  lend  yourself  an  easy  and  vile  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  the  oppressor.  Diebitsch  !  Can  it  be  you  who  so 
recently  passed  the  Balkan,  to  deliver  a  nation  from  the 
yoke  of  barbarism,  —  an  action  which  gained  for  you  so 
great  a  name  in  history  1 

'  Do  you  remember  the  proclamations  which  you  publish- 
ed on  that  occasion,  how  different  from  these,  filled  with 
noble  thoughts,  and  in  which  you  felicitated  yourself  on 
being  placed  in  command  of  an  army  destined  to  deliver 
the  unfortunate  Greek  nation  from  the  barbarism  which 
was  oppressing  it.  What  a  contrast  !  There  you  went  to 
deliver  the  unfortunate ;  here  you  come  to  increase  the  suf- 
ferings of  a  nation  which  has  for  fifteen  years  been  op- 
pressed in  a  manner  which  was  well  known  to  you,  and 
which  it  is  horrible  to  think  of.  General,  have  you  forgot- 
ten how  you  were  received  at  Warsaw,  after  your  return 
from  the  campaign  of  Turkey  1  Have  you  lost  the  recol- 
lection of  those  looks  of  welcome  and  of  joy  at  the  sight  of 
the  man  who  had  effected  the  deliverance  of  an  unfortu- 
nate and  oppressed  nation  ?  You  were  then  touched,  for 
the  sentiments  of  the  Polish  nation  were  in  harmony  with 
those  which  you  yourself  then  entertained.  All  those  recol- 
lections you  have  turned  away  from.  Dazzled  by  false 
ideas  of  greatness,  arrogance  has  driven  from  your  heart 
those  noble  sentiments  which  would  have  made  you  truly 
great.  Diebitsch!  Poland  once  had  confidence  in  you. 
Many  Poles  had  hoped  that  you  would  act  as  a  mediator  be- 
tween your  monarch  and  us.  No  one  could  be  in  a  more 
favorable  situation  than  yourself  to  set  before  that  monarch 
the  nature  of  our  sufferings,  and  the  claims  which  we  had 
upon  his  justice.  You  would  have  been  in  a  situation  to 
persuade  him  that  the  time  had  come  to  aid  the  cause  of 
civilization,  and  to  promote  his  own  happiness,  by  con- 
ceding to  a  nation  those  rights  which  are  essential  to  its 
happiness  and  prosperity.  Poland  had  such  expectations 
of  you.  You  alone,  who  are  so  near  the  person  of  the 
monarch,  and  to  whom  his  character  is  so  intimately  known, 
you  could  have  done  this.  Such  conduct  would  have  added 
indeed  to  the  glory  you  had  already  acquired.     Who  then 


106  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

• 

frontier  at  the  four  general  points  above  named 
(7,  8,  9,  12).  Their  different  commanders,  be- 
sides the  marshal  Diebitsch,  w^ere,  the  Grand 
Duke  Constantine,  generals  Rosen,  Pahlen,  Geis- 
mer,  Kreutz,  prince  Wirtemberg,  and  Witt.  The 
chief  d'etat  major  w^as  general  Toll,  the  most  skil- 
ful of  the  Russian  generals.  The  space  desig- 
nated for  the  entrance  of  the  different  detachments 
of  the  Russian  corps  embraced  an  extent  of  ninety- 
six  English  miles.  This  space  vs^as  almost  wholly 
occupied  by  either  small  or  large  detachments. 
General  Diebitsch,  meaning  to  attack  our  centre 
at  Siedlce  with  a  part  of  his  army,  intended  to 
outflank  us  with  the  rest,  and  to  march  directly 
upon  Warsaw,  and  thus,  following  the  plan  of 
Napoleon  in  the  campaign  of  Prussia,  in  1806,  at 
Jena  and  Auerstacdt,  to  cripple  our  front,  and  to 
put  an  end  to  the  war  in  a  moment.  The  plans 
of  this  renowned  commander  were  well  understood 
by  our  general  officers,  and  to  resist  them,  it  was 
determined  to  contract  our  forces  (h)  into  a  line  of 
operations,  narrow,  but  concentrated  and  strong  ; 
a  course  which  bur  inferiority  of  force  seerned  to 
require.  This  line  was  posted  as  follows.  Our 
left  wing,  consisting  of  the  fourth  division  of  gen- 
would  have  equalled  you  1  But,  for  your  misfortune,  you 
have  chosen  another  course,  and  by  acting  as  a  servile  in- 
strument of  tyranny  you  have  tarnished  all  your  former 
glory.  Know  then,  Diebitsch,  that  the  Poles  despise  you. 
Spare  both  your  promises  and  your  menaces ;  for  with 
neither  will  you  effect  anything.  They  long  for  the  ap- 
proach of  your  colossal  masses,  that  they  may  give  you  an 
example  of  what  freemen  can  do.' 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  107 

eral  Szembek  and  a  division  of  cavalry  under  gen- 
eral Uminski,  was  in  the  environs  of  Pultusk  (14). 
This  .wing  sent  its  reconnoissances  towards  Ostro- 
lenka  (4).  In  the  environs  of  the  town  of  Jadow 
(16)  was  the  division  of  general  Krukowiecki ; 
and  in  the  environs  of  Wengrow  (15),  the  division 
of  general  Skrzynecki,  with  the  division  of  cavalry 
commanded  by  general  Lubinski.  The  centre  of 
our  position  was  about  half  way  between  the  two 
latter  places.  Our  right  wing  was  at  Siedlce  (2), 
and  was  composed  of  the  2nd  division  of  infantry 
under  general  Zymirski,  and  the  2nd  division  of 
cavalry  under  general  Stryinski.  To  cover  the 
right  wing,  a  small  corps  under  the  command  of 
general  Dwernicki  was  posted  at  Seroczyn  (17). 
That  corps  consisted  of  3,000  infantry,  800  horse, 
and  three  pieces  of  cannon.  Different  patrols  of 
cavalry  were  employed  in  observing  the  enemy 
along  the  whole  space  between  Sokolow,  Miend- 
zyrzec,  and  Parczewo.  The  rivers  Narew  (N), 
Bug  (B),  and  Liewiec  (L),  covered  the  whole 
line  of  our  operations,  and  made  it  sufficiently 
strong.  Our  centre,  especially,  was  well  posted 
between  Jadow  (16),  Wengrow  (16),  and  Siedlce 
(2).  It  was  protected  by  the  great  marshes  form- 
ed by  the  river  Lieviec  (L).  Excepting  in  a  few 
points,  which  were  well  fortified,  these  marshes 
were  wholly  impassable.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  this  position  was  not  made  still  stronger  by 
more  ample  fortifications.  Besides  making  the 
passage  of  this  point  cost  a  more  severe  loss  to  the 


108  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

enemy,  such  fortifications  would  have  enabled  us 
to  spare  one  whole  division  for  other  purposes. 
Fortifications  of  positions  should  always  be  the 
more  freely  combined  with  tactics,  in  proportion 
to  the  inferiority  of  a  force. 

In  the  above  mentioned  position  we  were  to 
await  the  first  shock  of  the  enemy,  after  which 
the  army  was  to  retire  slowly  towards  the  envi- 
rons of  Praga,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  each 
corps  should  always  be  on  the  parallel  with  the 
rest.  In  this  retreat  each  corps  was  required  to 
profit  by  every  opportunity,  to  cause  the  utmost 
loss  to  the  enemy,  and  to  harass  him  as  much  as 
possible.  By  a  retreat  of  this  nature,  it  was  in- 
tended to  draw  the  enemy  on  to  the  walls  of  War- 
saw, and,  having  weakened  him  during  such  a  re- 
treat, to  give  him  a  decisive  battle  there. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  opening  fire. — AfFairs  of  the  10th  and  11th  February.— Combat  of 
Stoczek. — Disposition  in  consequence  of  that  battle. — Battle  of  Boi- 
mie. — Retrograde  movement  to  Dobre. — Combat  of  Makowiec. — 
Passage  of  the  Orsyca. — Combat  of  Dobre.  Attack  on  the  right  wing 
at  Minsk. 

The  tenth  of  February,  1831,  was  the  first  day, 
after  an  interval  of  fifteen  years,  of  the  encounter 
between  the  Russian  and  Polish  arms.  Mend- 
zyrzee  (18)  was  the  place  in  which  the  first  fire 
was  given  ;  and  the  little  skirmish  which  took 
place  there  was  of  good  presage.  On  the  morning 
of  that  day,  two  regiments  of  Cossacks  showed 
themselves  upon  the  plain  before  the  town,  on 
which  were  posted  two  regiments  of  krakus,  or 
light  cavalry,  and  the  4th  regiment  of  lancers,  as 
an  advanced  guard.  Our  cavalry  were  impatient 
to  engage  with  the  enemy,  and  begged  of  their 
commander  to  be  allowed  to  attack  him.  When 
it  was  seen  that  this  body  of  the  enemy  was  de- 
tached from  his  larger  force,  permission  was  given 
to  one  of  the  two  new  regiments  of  light  cavalry, 
supported  by  a  squadron  of  the  old  cavalry  as  a 
reserve,  to  throw  themselves  upon  the  enemy.  In 
a  moment  our  cavalry  were  among  the  ranks  of 
the  Cossacks.  Both  of  the  enemy's  regiments 
were  dispersed,  and  one  squadron  with  six  officers 
were  taken  prisoners.  The  enemy  was  not  pur- 
sued, our  troops  being  satisfied  with  this  success- 
ful attack,  and  with  having  excited  the  first  con- 
14 


110  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

sternation  in  the  enemy's  ranks.  After  this  skir- 
mish, our  cavalry,  in  obedience  to  previous  instruc- 
tions, retired  to  the  environs  of  Siedlce  (2).  In 
this  town  was  a  little  garrison  consisting  of  a  regi- 
ment of  light  infantry  and  a  detachment  of  rifle- 
men, formed  and  commanded  by  Michael  Kuszel. 
On  the  11th,  at  about  mid-day,  the  whole  of  the 
advanced  guard  of  the  Russian  centre,  which  was 
commanded  by  Diebitsch  in  person,  reached  the 
environs  of  Siedlce  (2),  and  took  position  there. 
Before  the  night  set  in,  other  Russian  columns 
began  to  place  themselves  upon  the  same  plain. 
Their  advanced  guard  then  recommenced  the 
march,  throwing  their  tirailleurs  forward,  who 
began  a  warm  fire,  which  was  answered  by  our 
own  light  troops,  who  were  placed  in  the  faubourgs 
and  the  sides  of  the  town.  The  brave  detachment 
of  KuszePs  riflemen,  who  were  finely  trained  and 
equipped,  caused  a  great  loss  to  the  enemy.  The 
Russian  artillery,  to  protect  their  tirailleurs  and 
the  columns  of  infantry  which  followed  them, 
commenced  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  faubourgs  oc- 
cupied by  our  infantry.  This  fire  of  the  Russian 
artillery  was  ineflectual ;  but  our  own  fire,  as  the 
Russians  were  exposed  in  an  open  plain,  was  very 
destructive.  The  action  continued  until  dark, 
when  our  infantry  began  to  evacuate  the  town, 
and  marched  to  rejoin  the  divisionary  camp,  which 
was  about  a  mile  in  the  rear. 

At  8  o'clock,  general  Zymirski,  supposing  that 
the  enemy  had  taken  possession  of  the  town,  de- 


■if: 


""ik V-'smw 


r- 


J^     , 

a      ^ 

0^ 


<5 


\  i,  I 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  HI 

termined  to  make  an  attack,  with  two  regiments, 
upon  the  town  and  the  Russian  camp,  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  The  7th  regiment  of  the  line  and 
the  4th  regiment  of  light  infantry,  which  were 
designated  for  this  object,  fell  with  impetuosity 
upon  the  enemy,  whom  they  found  in  an  wholly 
unprepared  state.  A  few  hundred  prisoners  were 
the  fruits  of  this  attack,  after  which  our  forces 
evacuated  the  town.  These  little  advantages 
gained  in  those  two  days,  retarded  the  advance  of 
the  enemy.  He  remained  inactive  on  the  12th 
and  13th.  On  the  14th,  the  Russian  corps  under 
the  command  of  general  Kreutz,  composed  of 
15,000  men  and  24  pieces  of  cannon,  attacked  the 
small  corps  of  observation  on  our  right,  under  the 
command  of  general  Dwernicki. 


COMBAT  OF  STOCZEK.     [See  Plan  II.] 

General  Dwernicki,  although  aware  of  the  vast 
superiority  of  the  enemy's  force,  yet,  trusting  in 
the  strength  of  his  own  position,  determined 
to  meet  his  attack,  and  give  him  battle.  The 
position  of  Stoczek  (a)  was  strong  in  several 
respects ;  first,  from  its  commanding  elevation ; 
secondly,  from  the  circumstance  that  the  town  is 
protected  by  the  river  S wider  (6),  which  forms 
marshes  that  are  not  passable  but  by  a  dyke  (m) 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  city,  in  the  direction 
in  which  the  Russian  army  was  approaching. 
That  dyke  was  defended  by  the  whole  artillery  of 


112  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

our  corps,  consisting  of  three  pieces  (e)  ;  and  the 
declivity  descending  toward  the  dyke  was  occu- 
pied by  two  companies  of  light  troops  dispersed  in 
favorable  positions  as  sharp-shooters,  and  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  act  on  the  dyke.  General  Dwer- 
nicki  divided  his  forces  into  the  smallest  possible 
bodies,  to  give  an  appearance  of  extent  to  his  line, 
and  thus  mask  his  inferiority  of  force.  Leaving  a 
battalion  of  infantry  (d)  to  protect  the  artillery 
and  prevent  the  passage  of  the  dyke, — w^hich  pas- 
sage, he  was  sure  that  the  enemy  could  not  possi- 
bly execute  rapidly,  and  that  this  small  force  was 
sufficient,  if  not  to  prevent  at  least  to  retard  it,  — 
he  took  the  two  battalions  (d)  which  made  the 
remainder  of  his  force,  and  throwing  them  upon 
the  right  bank  (A)  of  this  river,  in  the  forest, 
where  an  easier  and  safer  passage  was  open  to  the 
enemy,  he  there  awaited  the  enemy's  movements. 
The  first  step  of  the  Russians  (^,  h)  was  to  place 
all  their  artillery  (/)  at  the  nearest  possible  point 
to  our  position,  and  to  commence  a  warm  fire  upon 
the  town.  Under  this  fire  they  thought  to  effect 
the  passage  of  the  dyke.  General  Dwernicki 
ordered  his  artillery  not  to  fire,  until  the  Russian 
columns  should  make  their  appearance  on  the 
dyke,  and  then  to  open  a  fire  of  grape  upon  them. 
In  this  manner  some  hours  passed,  during  which 
the  Russian  artillery  kept  up  an  ineffectual  fire, 
and  the  Russian  corps  executed  various  manoeu- 
vres in  attempting  to  force  the  passage  of  the 
dyke,   and  in  pushing  their  attack  in  the  direction 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  113 

of  the  forest.  General  Kreutz,  seeing  that  his 
attempts  to  force  the  dyke  were  attended  with 
severe  loss,  and  thinking  that  in  the  other  direc- 
tion, the  passage  would  be  much  more  easy,  de- 
cided on  a  general  attack  in  that  quarter.  He 
divided  his  corps,  leaving  one  part  before  the 
dyke,  and  with  the  remainder  advanced  to  the 
attack  of  our  right  (A).  Strong  columns  of  Rus- 
sian infantry  and  cavalry  marched  against  it.  As 
soon  as  this  manoeuvre  was  observed  by  Dwer- 
nicki,  the  idea  was  conceived  by  him  of  prevent- 
ing the  attack,  by  throwing  himself  with  the 
utmost  impetuosity  upon  the  enemy  before  he  had 
taken  a  position,  and  while  on  the  march.  He 
renewed  his  orders  to  defend  with  the  utmost 
firmness  the  passage  of  the  dyke  ;  and,  taking  all 
the  cavalry  with  him,  he  passed  over  towards  the 
forest ;  and,  with  the  united  force  of  this  cavalry 
and  the  infantry  who  were  concealed  in  the  forest, 
he  threw  himself  upon  the  Russian  artillery,  and 
the  cavalry  which  was  protecting  it.  In  a  moment 
both  artillery  and  cavalry  were  completely  over- 
thrown and  dispersed,  and  seven  pieces  of  cannon 
remained  in  our  hands.  The  disorder  communi- 
cated itself  to  the  columns  which  were  on  the 
march,  who  thought  no  longer  of  following  up 
their  attack,  but  retreated  as  fast  as  possible,  and 
in  fact  a  general  and  disorderly  retreat  commenced. 
The  ruin  of  their  left  wing  caused  a  consternation 
in  the  forces  composing  their  right,  who,  not  know- 
ing what  had  happened,  ceased  their  fire,  quitted 


114  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

their  position,  and  joined  in  the  general  retreat. 
Besides  the  killed  and  wounded,  more  than  1,000 
prisoners,  with  twenty  officers,  were  taken,  to- 
gether with  a  great  quantity  of  ammunition,  bag- 
gage, &c,  among  which  were  several  voitures  con- 
taining the  chapels  of  the  camp.* 

The  enemy  was  followed  a  short  distance  only, 
as  the  inferiority  of  our  force  would  not  of  course 
admit  of  an  extended  pursuit,  and  it  was  an  impor- 
tant object  also  with  general  Dwernicki  not  to  per- 
mit the  enemy  to  discover  that  inferiority.  He 
contented  himself  therefore  with  having  destroyed 
nearly  a  third  part  of  the  enemy's  corps,  and  with 
having  thrown  his  whole  force  into  the  greatest 
consternation.  This  brilliant  affair  was  the  com- 
mencement of  the  remarkable  career  of  general 
Dwernicki ;  and  it  was  a  propitious  opening  for 
our  campaign. 

General  Dwernicki  resumed  his  former  position 
at  Stoczek,  where  he  awaited  the  orders  which  the 
commander  in  chief  might  issue  on  receiving  the 
report  of  what  had  taken  place.  To  make  this 
position  more  strong,  he  ordered  a  barricade  of 

*  It  was  in  this  battle  that  the  celebrated  Matuszka  (in 
Russian  Mamyuika,)  or  the  image  of  the  Holy  Mother,  fell 
into  our  hands.  This  image  was  held  in  great  veneration 
by  that  superstitious  people.  In  the  campaign  of  Turkey, 
many  of  their  successes  were  attributed  to.  the  Mamyuika. 
Its  loss  occasioned  a  general  sensation  in  the  Russian  army, 
and  was  regarded  by  them  as  a  most  unfavorable  presage. 
We  often  heard  the  prisoners  whom  we  afterwards  took, 
attribute  all  their  misfortunes  to  the  Holy  Mother  having 
abandoned  them. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  115 

trees  to  be  made  at  the  termination  of  the  dyke 
and  at  the  other  points  where  the  approach  was 
easy,  and,  in  order  to  keep  a  close  observation 
upon  the  enemy,  he  sent  patrols  in  the  direction  of 
Kock  and  Zelechow.  While  thus  occupied,  he 
received  orders  to  leave  his  position  immediately 
by  a  rapid  march  in  the  direction  of  Zelechow  and 
Macieiowice,  then  to  pass  the  Vistula  and  meet 
the  Russian  corps  under  the  command  of  the 
Prince  Wirtemburg,  who,  after  having  crossed 
that  river  at  Pulawa,  had  made  a  demonstration  on 
its  left  bank,  and  was  approaching  Warsaw. 

On  receiving  these  orders,  general  Dwernicki 
left  Stoczek  on  the  same  night. 

In  consequence  of  the  enemy's  attack  upon 
Dwernicki's  corps,  which  covered  our  right  wing, 
that  wing  was  inclined  and  withdrawn  towards 
Kaluszyn,  in  order  not  to  be  exposed  to  the  ene- 
my's demonstrations  upon  its  flank  or  rear.  The 
town  of  Minsk  was  also  occupied  by  a  detachment. 
On  the  15th  the  Russians  made  a  simultaneous 
attack  on  Wengrow  and  Kaluszyn.  But  the  prin- 
cipal attack  was  intended  to  be  directed  against 
Kaluszyn,  or  rather  the  village  of  Boimie  adjoining 
it.  At  Wengrow  the  attack  was  masked.  By  a 
strong  attack  upon  our  right  wing,  the  enemy  had 
the  design  of  gaining  the  great  road  to  Warsaw,  a 
plan  which  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  for  us 
to  defeat ;  for,  if  he  should  have  succeeded  in 
forcing  our  right  wing,  he  would  have  cut  off  our 
communications  with  the  corps  of  general  Skrzy- 


116  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

necki,  and  Krukowiecki,  which  were  in  a  more 
advanced  position.  Our  generals  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  the  most  determined  defence  of  the  position, 
and  general  Zymirski  resolved  to  resist  to  the  last 
extremity. 


BATTLE  OF  BOIMIE.     (See  Plan  III.) 

The  battle  of  Boimie  consisted  of  a  persevering 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  to  force  the 
passage  of  a  dyke  (k),  under  the  protection  of 
the  fire  of  a  strong  battery  of  artillery  (e).  On 
our  side,  every  effort  was  directed  to  the  making 
of  the  passage  of  that  dyke  as  destructive  as  pos- 
sible to  the  enemy.  For  this  object  our  arrange- 
ments were  made  as  follows.  On  the  night  of  the 
14th,  we  destroyed  the  bridges  (m)  over  the  small 
river  of  Kostrzyn,  which  traverses  the  dyke  or 
main  road  in  two  places.  Not  far  from  the  near- 
est bridge,  a  defence  of  branches  of  trees  (n)  was 
thrown  together,  which  having  been  well  placed, 
made  a  good  cover  for  our  marksmen,  and  for  a 
battalion  of  infantry  (o),  which  were  concealed 
behind  them.  The  fire  of  grape  from  the  enemy's 
artillery  was  rendered  ineffective  to  a  great  degree 
by  this  mass  of  trees.  Upon  the  nearest  eleva- 
tions of  ground  (B),  general  Zymirski  placed 
eighteen  pieces  of  cannon  (a),  the  fire  of  which 
was  concentrated  upon  the  dyke.  By  this  means 
every  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  re-construct  the 


r> 


\ 


"     It 


Ml 


;|ti:  ^. 


IJ    -u 

■u 


r!h 


tn-m^ 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  117 

bridge  was  made  to  cost  him  a  severe  toss,  and 
was  rendered  ineffectual.  The  main  body  of  our 
forces  was  placed  without  the  reach  of  the  enemy's 
artillery.  On  the  left  of  our  position,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  about  half  a  mile,  a  small  road  Qp)  led  to 
Dobre,  and  that  road  was  intersected  by  the  small 
river  above  mentioned.  *  The  bridge  which  contin- 
ued the  road  over  this  river  was  destroyed  by  us, 
and  a  small  detachment  placed  there  to  prevent  its 
reconstruction  and  its  passage  by  the  enemy. 

Such  was  the  distribution  of  the  small  force 
which,  profiting  by  the  strength  of  its  position, 
was  able  to  meet  the  attacks  of  the  numerous  body 
of  the  enemy  commanded  by  marshal  Diebitsch  in 
person,  and  which  were  renewed  during  the  whole 
day. 

The  details  of  the  action  are  as  follows:  —  At 
about  9  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the 
Russian  force  commenced  debouching  from  the 
forests  which  border  the  main  road,  between  Min- 
gosy  and  Boimie,  and  deploying  to  the  right  and 
left,  took  position.  In  a  short  time  the  field  was 
covered  with  the  enemy's  masses.  His  force  con- 
sisted of  twelve  regiments  of  infantry  (/),  six  of 
cavalry  (g),  and  sixty  pieces  of  cannon.  It  was 
at  about  noon  that  the  enemy  placed  his  artillery 
upon  the  heights  (A)  above  the  bridge  and  com- 
menced his  fire.  After  continuing  for  some  time 
this  fire,  which  was  but  occasionally  answered  by 
our  artillery,  the  enemy  sent  several  battalions  in 
column,  upon  the  bridge,  a  part  of  which  force 
15 


118  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

engaged.in  the  repair  of  the  bridge,  and  the  rest 
attempted  to  make  the  passage.  Every  approach 
of  the  enemy  was  met  with  a  warm  fire  from  be- 
hind the  defence  of  trees  above  mentioned,  and 
our  artillery  at  the  same  time  opened  a  destructive 
fire  of  grape  upon  the  bridge.  The  attempts  of 
the  enemy  were  renewed  for  some  hours,  in  vain. 

Finding  the  impossibility  of  forcing  this  passage, 
he  directed  his  efFprts  to  that  on  his  right  (D),  and 
sent  a  cloud  of  light  infantry  and  cavalry  to  at- 
tempt to  pass  the  marshes,  and  ford  the  stream. 
But  this  passage  was  equally  impossible,  and  sev- 
eral Russian  regiments,  who  were  engaged  in  the 
attempt,  exposed  themselves  to  a  severe  fire  of 
platoons  from  our  troops,  and  several  staff*  officers 
of  the  enemy  were  killed  at  the  head  of  those 
regiments.  In  these  renewed  and  bloody  attempts, 
the  day  passed  away,  and  as  the  night  approached, 
our  troops  quietly  evacuated  their  position,  and 
took  another  a  few  miles  in  the  rear. 

As  to  the  affair  at  Wengrow,  it  was  only  an 
engagement  with  the  rear  guard  of  the  corps  of 
general  Skrzynecki.  That  general,  knowing  his 
position  to  be  too  far  advanced,  decided  to  retire 
as  far  as  the  environs  of  Dobre.  This  retreat 
was  so  orderly  that  it  seemed  rather  an  evolution 
than  a  retreat.  All  the  movements  were  executed 
with  perfect  coolness,  and  the  alternate  retreat 
and  fire  of  the  different  battalions,  the  displaying 
and  closing  of  the  columns,  the  change  of  front, 
&c,  were  executed  with  such  precision  that  it  im- 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  119 

pressed  the  enemy  with  a  certain  degree  of  respect, 
and  though  three  times  superior  in  force  he  did 
not  attempt  to  push  his  attack.  In  this  manner 
the  corps  arrived  at  the  village  of  Makow^iec, 
whe;re  it  took,  position.  On  the  next  day,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  light  skirmishes  between  the 
outposts,  nothing  of  importance  took  placed  The 
right  wing  received  on  that  day  the  order  to  fall 
back  as  far  as  Minsk,  some  miles  in  the  rear  of 
their  former  position.  On  the  evening  of  that  day 
the  line  of  operation  of  our  army  was  as  follows  :  — 
Our  left  wing  was  at  Zegrz,  the  centre  in  the 
environs  of  Dobre,  and  the  right  wing  at  Minsk. 

On  the  17th,  the  enemy  attacked  our  centre  at 
Dobre  and  our  right  at  Minsk.  It  was  a  day  of 
great  bloodshed  along  our  whole  line,  but,  like  the 
preceding,  highly  honorable  to  our  arms, 

BATTLE  OF  MAKOWIEC  AND  DOBRE..   {See  Plan  IV.) 

This  battle  is  generally  known  by  the  name  of 
the  battle  of  Dobre ;  but  as  it  was  fought  in  two 
different  positions,  and  with  two  different  plans  of 
operation,  I  have  given  the  name  of  the  two  gen- 
eral positions,  in  speaking  of  the  battle.  General 
Skrzynecki  was,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  in 
a  position  too  far  in  advance  of  our  right  wing  ; 
and  as  the  enemy  on  that  day  had  attacked,  as  we 
have  also  stated,  the  right  wing  and  the  centre 
simultaneously,  and  could  have  made,  as  will  be 


120  THE    POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

seen  by  the  plan,  a  demonstration  on  Stanislawow, 
and  thus  have  acted  on  the  rear  of  Skrzjnecki, 
v^hich  was  nearest  to  him,  that  general  had  two 
objects  to  effect.  First  to  make  the  attack  of  the 
enemy  as  costly  to  him  as  possible,  and  next  to 
arrange  his  retrograde  movement  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  be  able  to  reach  Stanislawow  by  night.  Both 
of  these  designs  were  exceedingly  well  executed. 
Upon  each  of  his  positions  he  was  master  of  his  own 
movements,  and  quitted  them  at  his  own  time.  This 
affair  of  the  1 7th  of  February  was  the  occasion  of  the 
first  development  of  the  remarkable  talents  of  this 
commander.  It  was  then  that  he  first  awakened 
the  high  expectations  and  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  nation,  which  soon  after  committed  to  him 
the  trust  so  honorably  and  faithfully  executed  by 
him.  In  regard  to  the  first  position  at  Makowiec, 
the  reader  will  observe,  on  examining  the  plan, 
that  the  Polish  forces  were  principally  engaged  in 
defending  a  triangular  space  embraced  between  the 
two  roads  (/)  which  lead  from  Wengrow  and 
Kaluszyn  and  meet  behind  Makowiec  Qi),  This 
space,  over  which  small  elevations  covered  with 
brush- wood  were  scattered,  afforded  good  positions 
for  artillery  as  well  as  infantry  :  but  the  principal 
advantage  of  this  peculiarity  of  the  ground  was,' 
that  it  concealed  the  inferiority  of  our  forces.  In 
this  position,  the  village  of  Makowiec  was  made  a 
point  d?appui  upon  our  left  wing,  and  it  was  de- 
fended by  five  companies  (d),  under  the  command 
of  colonel  Dombrowski.     Six  pieces  of  artillery  (e) 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  121 

placed  in  the  rear  of  this  village,  reached  w^ith  their 
fire  the  village  and  the  plain  in  front  of  it.  The 
Russian  position  was  an  open  plain. 

The  enemy  commenced  by  an  attack  upon  the 
two  roads  from  Wengrow  and   Kaluszyn  ;    and  as 
the  attack  was  met  with  a  strong  resistance,  he 
began  to  deploy  upon  the  plain  between  the  two 
roads,  and  to  take  order  of  battle.     Nearly  30,000 
Russians,  with  fiky  or  sixty  pieces  of  cannon  (c), 
in  a  short  time  were   seen  upon  that  plain,  and 
commenced  a  tetrible  fire  of  artillery  and  musquet- 
ry    along    their    whole    line,    directed    principally 
against  the  village  and  the  wooded  ground.     Sev- 
eral battalions  (a),  in  column,  attempted  an  attack 
upon  these  points.     Those  attacks  were  witnessed 
by  colonels    Dombrowski  and   Boguslawski  with 
perfect  indifference.     They  even  ordered  our  artil- 
lery not  to  fire.     Our  tirailleurs,  and  all  the  infan- 
try in  that  position,  formed  themselves  into  de- 
tached columns  (k)  of  half  battalions,  and  the  Rus- 
sian columns  approached.     Our  artillery  then  com- 
menced a  fire  of  grape,  and  this  fire  was  a  signal  for 
our  columns,  with  the  brave  colonels  Boguslawski 
and  Dombrowski  at  their  head,  to  leave  their  cover 
and  to  throw  themselves  upon  the  enemy.    The  4th 
regiment  immortalized  itself  in  that  attack.    One  of 
its  columns  threw  itself  upon  three  of  the  enemy, — 
the  fire  ceased,  and  a  terrible  carnage  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet  commenced.     The  enemy  repeat- 
edly renewed  his  attacking  force,  but  he  found  it 
impossible  to  move  our  position.     At  about  mid- 


122  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

day,  having  suffered  so  much  from  loss  and  exhaus- 
tion, he  discontinued  the  attack.  General  Skrzy- 
necki,  profiting  by  the  cessation  of  the  enemy's 
fire,  took  the  opportunity  to  pass  the  Liwiec,  and 
ordered  a  light  fire  of  tirailleurs  to  be  kept  up,  under 
cover  of  which  his  columns  commenced  executing 
the  passage.  When  the  greater  part  of  the  corps 
had  passed,  the  tirailleurs  began  to  make  a  retro- 
grade movement,  and  were  undisturbed  by  the 
enemy.  Six  squadrons  of  cavalry  (e),  left  as  a 
rear  guard,  protected  the  passage' of  the  river  by 
the  light  troops.  In  this  manner  the  position  was 
slowly  evacuated,  the  bridge  destroyed,  and  by 
about  two  o'clock  the  whole  corps  were  on  the 
march  for  Dobre.  The  six  squadrons  abovenamed, 
to  which  were  added  nine  pieces  of  light  artillery 
(m),  prevented  for  a  long  while  the.  reconstruction 
of  the  bridge  by  the  enemy,  and  did  not  quit  their 
position  until  the  corps  was  at  a  safe  distance, 
after  which  they  followed  rapidly  and  overtook  the 
corps  at  about  four  o'clock,  and  with  it  took  posi- 
tion in  order  of  battle  near  Dobre, 


BATTLE  OF  DOBRE.     [See  Plan  V.] 

The  position  of  Dobre  was  more  advantageous  for 
us  than  the  former.  It  was  protected  in  front  by 
two  ponds  of  considerable  size,  which  lost  them- 
selves at  their  extremities  in  marshy  ground.  The 
only  passage  which  led  between  those  two  ponds 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  123 

was  easy  of  defence,  and  general  Skrzynecki  post- 
ed upon  it  twelve  pieces  of  artillery  of  large  calibre '. 
(a).  The  remaining  part  of  this  position  was,  like 
the  former,  covered  with  scattered  clumps  of 
brush-wood.  The  principal  circumstance,  how- 
ever, which  made  this  position  eligible,  was  the 
declivity  of  the  ground,  inclining  towards  the 
marshy  ponds  above  mentioned. 

General  Skrzynecki  collected  all  his  cavalry 
upon  his  right  wing,  to  hinder  the  enemy  from 
gaining  the  road  that  leads  to  Minsk  (A).  The 
left  of  his  position  (B)  he  laid  open  to  the  enemy. 
The  position  in  that  direction  was  surrounded  by 
marshes,  upon  which,  if  the  enemy  should  advance, 
it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  extricate  himself 
without  being  exposed  to  fight  on  the  most  disad- 
vantageous terms. 

On  this  oblique  front,  general  Skrzynecki  await- 
ed the  approach  of  the  Russian  force.  In  about 
half  an  hour  after  our  position  was  taken,  the  ene- 
my arrived,  and  began  to  debouch  between  the 
two  ponds,  which  he  was  allowed  to  do,  under  a 
very  light  fire  of  our  artillery.  Every  manoeuvre, 
however,  upon  our  right  was  met  with  desperate 
charges  of  the  bayonet,  and  the  fire  of  our  whole 
artillery.  All  his  attempts  in  that  quarter  were 
ineffectual.  In  the  repulses  of  these  attacks,  two 
of  our  bravest  colonels,  Boguslawski,  commander  of 
the  4th  regiment  of  infantry,  and  Ziemiecki,  com- 
mander of  the  2d  regiment  of  hulans,  (the  former 
fighting  on  foot  with  his  carbine  in  his  hand  at  the 


124  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

head  of  his  regiment,)  were  severely  wounded. 
At  last,  after  these  ineffectual  attempts  on  our 
right,  the  enemy  fell  into  the  plans  of  general 
Skrzynecki,  and  began  to  act  on  our  left,  when 
our  commander  hastened  to  take  all  the  advantage 
of  the  situation  in  which  the  enemy  -were  about  to 
expose  themselves,  that  the  lateness  of  the  day 
permittecf.  General  Skrzynecki  passed  down 
the  front  of  our  line,  and  addressed  the  soldiers 
in  a  few  animating  words,  to  prepare  them  to 
make  a  general  attack  on  the  enemy.  Our 
forces  were  divided  into  two  parts,  the  smaller  of 
which  occupied,  by  their  attack,  the  main  body  of 
the  enemy,  while  the  larger  threw  itself  upon  the 
enemy's  right  wing,  which  was  at  some  distance 
from  the  rest  of  his  forces,  and  was  apparently  in- 
tending to  act  on  our  right  wing  and  to  turn  it.  In 
a  moment  this  body  of  the  enemy's  force  was  com- 
pletely broken  up.  The  fury  of  the  attack  was 
such,  that  some  Russian  battalions  were  entirely 
destroyed.  It  was  only  the  near  approach  of 
night,  and  the  inadequacy  of  our  force  for  a  pur- 
suit, which  saved  the  whole  of  the  enemy's  corps 
from  destruction ;  for  his  entire  right  wing  took  to 
flight,  and  a  general  consternation  ensued.  The 
enemy  lost  on  that  day,  according  to  his  own  re- 
ports, more  than  6,000  men,  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners.  On  our  side  the  loss  amounted  to 
about  800. 

Thus  ended  the   memorable,  battle  of  Dobre. 
General   Skrzynecki  left  his  position,  and  arrived 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  125 

on  the  same  night  at  Stanislawow.  Marshal  Die- 
bitsch  and  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine  were  with 
the  Russian  forces,  in  person,  on  that  day,  accord- 
ing to  the  report  of  the  prisoners.  The  former, 
to  whom  this  commencement  of  the  withering  of 
his  laurels  had  led  to  a  state  of  the  greatest  exas- 
peration, often  led  the  columns  in  person  to  the 
fire  —  but  all  in  vain. 

On  the  same  day,  as  we  have  already  remarked, 
our  right  wing  was  attacked  at  Minsk.  The  en- 
emy supposed  that  our  main  force  was  there,  and 
it  was  for  that  reason  that  he  chose  to  attack 
Dobre,  being  more  confident  of  piercing  our  line 
at  that  point.  The  Russian  corps  under  general 
Rosen,  which  attacked  our  right  wing,  satisfied 
themselves  with  keeping  up  a  fire  of  artillery  on 
Minsk,  and  the  day  passed  without  any  attempt 
to  force  the  position  having  been  made.  Our 
troops  were  in  the  same  position  at  night  as  in  the 
morning,  and  nothing  of  importance  occurred,  al- 
though occasionally  severe  losses  were  sustained 
on  both  sides. 


16 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Retrograde  movement  of  the  18th  of  February. — Details  of  this  move- 
ment, and  of  the  actions  which  took  place. — The  army  reaches  the 
field  of  Praga. — Its  reception  at  Warsaw. — Position  of  the  army. — 
Battle  of  Wavre  and  Bialolenka. — Operations  of  general  Dwernicki 
against  the  corps  of  Prince  Wirtemburg. — Defeat  of  that  corps  by 
general  Dwernicki  at  Swierza. — Renewal  of  the  enemy's  attack  on 
the  main  army  on  the  20th. — Its  successful  resistance. — Review  of 
the  events  of  the  preceding  days. — Examination  of  the  plan  of  opera- 
tions of  the  Polish  army. 

On  the  1 8th,  our  whole  line  was  ordered  to  make 
a  retrograde  movement.  \_See  Plan  VI.]  The 
utmost  order  and  tranquillity  was  to  be  observed 
in  this  movement.  The  several  corps  were  re- 
quired to  preserve  a  constant  communication  w^ith 
each  other,  and  to  keep  themselves  uniformly  on 
the  same  parallel.  General  Zimirski,  commanding 
the  right  wing  (A),  and  who  remained  on  the 
main  road,  received  orders  to  take  advantage  of 
every  good  position  which  he  should  meet  w^ith 
between  Dembe-Wielkie  (13)  and  Milosna  (12). 
Three  points  in  particular  were  recommended  to 
his  attention,  Dembe-Wielkie,  (14),  and  Milosna. 
Nature  presents  at  those  points  commanding  posi- 
tions surrounded  by  forests.  In  each  of  those 
positions,  the  enemy  would  be  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  our  artillery,  on  debouching  from  the  interven- 
ing forests  ;  and  it  was  designed  to  make  the  at- 
tack of  those  positions  as  costly  as  possible  to  the 
enemy. 

The  centre  (B),  which  was  commanded  by 
generals  Skrzynecki  and  Krukowiecki,  was  to  re- 


VJ.  /I  110. 


'  /.  (  ( ( 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  127 

tire  upon  the  road  which  leads  from  Stanislawow 
(9)  to  Okuniew  (11).  Upon  this  winding  road, 
which  traverses  thick  forests,  the  means  of  defence 
was  easy. 

The  left  wing  (C),  commanded  by  Szembek 
and  Uminski,  which  was  in  the  environs  of  Zegrz 
(4),  received  orders  to  gain  Jablonna  (16),  and 
Zombke  (15),  on  the  same  night.  The  great 
bridge  over  the  Narew  at  Zegrz  was  to  be 
destroyed,  and  a  small  detachment  to  be  left  at 
Zagroby,  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  enemy. 

Conformably  to  the  above  orders,  our  entire  line 
commenced  the  evacuation  of  its  position,  and  an 
incessant  fire  was  kept  up  throughout  the  line, 
during  the  whole  day.  In  the  morning,  two  squad- 
rons of  light  cavalry,  which  were  sent  from  Minsk 
to  Stanislawow,  met  a  regiment  of  cossacks,  who 
were  making  a  reconnoisance,  after  having  traversed 
the  forest  of  Jakubow.  The  cavalry  threw  them- 
selves upon  them,  dispersed  them,  and  took  two 
hundred  prisoners  with  their  horses.  Upon  the  posi- 
tion of  Dembe,  our  cavalry  threw  themselves  upon 
some  Russian  artillery  which  appeared  upon  our 
right,  and  were  marching  in  a  direction  from  Ruda. 
Six  chests  of  ammunition  were  taken,  and  four 
pieces  of  cannon  were  spiked.  At  Stanislaus,  the  2d 
regiment  of  hulans  and  the  4th  of  the  line  performed 
prodigies  of  valor,  throwing  themselves  continually 
upon  superior  masses  of  the  enemy.  The  division 
of  general  Zimirski  repelled  two  successive  attacks 
from  a  superior  force  of  the  enemy  at  Konik,  upon 


128  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

the  road  between  Denibe-Wielkie  and  Janowek. 
Twelve  pieces  of  artillery,  placed  upon  the  ele- 
vated points  of  the  road,  poured  an  incessant  fire 
of  grape  upon  the  masses  which  were  advancing 
to  the  attack,  and  which  were  enclosed  by  forests 
on  both  sides,  as  well  as  impeded  in  their  progress 
by  the  trees  which  had  been  placed  across  the 
road  to  obstruct  them ;  and,  although  the  enemy 
constantly  renewed  his  attacking  columns,  he  was 
not  able  to  force  our  position,  which  indeed  was 
not  evacuated,  until  the  movement  of  the  general 
line  required  a  corresponding  withdrawal  of  this 
division. 

Our  left  wing  fought  with  equal  advantages  at 
Nasielsk.  From  this  town,  which  was  entirely  in 
flames,  the  attacks  of  the  enemy  were  repeatedly 
repulsed.  Our  artillery  distinguished  themselves 
by  acts  of  daring  valor.  They  drew  their  pieces 
into  the  midst  of  blazing  streets,  in  order  to  pour 
a  more  effective  fire  upon  the  masses  of  the  en- 
emy, who  had  entered  at  the  opposite  extremities. 

The  first  regiment  of  light  infantry,  having  at 
their  head  the  brave  Szembek,  threw  themselves 
upon  a  part  of  the  town  occupied  by  a  whole  di- 
vision of  the  enemy,  and  drove  them  out.  Even 
in  the  midst  of  the  burning  town,  our  chasseurs 
fell  upon  and  destroyed  the  different  parties  of  the 
enemy.  The  enemy,  on  quitting  the  place,  were 
exposed  to  continual  attacks  from  our  cavalry, 
under  the  command  of  general  Uminski,  who  took 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  129 

on  that  day  some  hundred  prisoners,  and  among 
them  several  officers. 

Our  right  wing  in  its  last  position  at  Milosna 
(12),  held  the  enemj  in  check  before  that  town. 
General  Zimirski  placed  his  artillery  upon  the 
heights  behind  the  town,  from  which  the  town  and 
the  adjoining  plain  was  commanded.  Every  at- 
tempt of  the  enemy,  every  debouchment  from  the 
forest,  cost  him  a  severe  loss.  The  enemy  in  vain 
took  positions  with  his  artillery  to  act  upon  us. 
He  was  not  permitted  to  occupy  Milosna  until 
night  approached. 

At  Okuniew,  the  road  passes  a  marshy  forest 
for  more  than  half  a  mile.  The  enemy  was  im- 
prudent enough  to  push  his  columns  upon  this 
road.  General  Skrzynecki  awaited  them  at  a 
point  not  far  distant  on  the  opposite  side.  The 
advanced  guard  of  the  enemy,  imprudently  com- 
posed of  several  regiments  of  cossack  cavalry,  had 
already  passed  the  dyke,  when  the  4th  regiment 
threw  themselves  in  columns  upon  them. 

These  forces  of  the  enemy  were  thrown  into 
the  utmost  consternation.  Their  only  escape  was 
into  the  marshes  on  either  side,  where  some  hun- 
dreds of  them  were  taken  prisoners  without  resist- 
ance. The  arrival  of  the  night  terminated  the 
scene,  and  saved  this  advanced  guard  of  the  ene- 
my from  total  destruction.  Thus  ended  a  sangui- 
nary day,  on  which,  in  every  part  of  our  line,  our 
troops  were  victorious,  and  the  enemy  was  sub- 
jected to  immense  losses.     Our  generals  had  made 


130  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

the  best  choice  of  their  positions,  and  had  profited 
by  them  to  the  utmost. 

The  enemy's  loss  on  that  day,  in  killed,  wound- 
ed, and  prisoners,  amounted  to  at  least  10,000 
men.     On  our  side  the  loss  did  not  exceed  1,000.* 

*  I  cannot  pass  over  this  occasion  of  describing  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  nation  received  that  army,  which  had  but 
a  month  before  left  the  walls  of  Warsaw,  and  had,  after  so 
many  glorious  actions,  returned  to  give  there  a  decisive  bat- 
tle to  the  enemy,  and  to  fall  or  conquer  there  before  the  eyes 
of  the  nation.  Those  were  moments  rare  in  history,  and 
should  be  handed  down  to  posterity,  to  demonstrate  to  what 
a  height  the  feelings  of  the  nation  were  exalted,  and  what  a 
unanimity  was  felt  in  the  great  cause  that  warmed  all  hearts. 
The  thunder  of  the  cannon  which,  during  the  15th,  rolled  over 
the  fields  of  Milosna  and  Okuniew,  was  heard  at  Warsaw, 
and  announced  the  approach  of  the  army.  At  nightfall, 
when  our  first  detachments  began  to  show  themselves  from 
the  forests  of  Milosna  and  Jablonna,  and  to  deploy  upon  the 
plains  of  Wavre  and  Bialolenka,  the  whole  population  of 
Warsaw  began  to  leave  the  city,  and  go  forth  to  meet  and 
hail  their  defenders.  The  senate,  whose  estimable  president, 
Czartoriski,  was  with  the  army,  left  the  city  also.  In  a  short 
time  the  fields  were  covered  with  an  exulting  multitude. 
When  the  army  took  its  position,  and  all  was  quiet  under  the 
protection  of  night,  the  people  drew  near  and  entered  the 
camp.  What  a  touching  scene  was  there  presented  !  Here 
a  father  and  mother  seek  their  son,  who  meeting  them,  pres- 
ses them  to  his  bosom.  There  a  wife,  leading  her  children, 
finds  her  husband  and  their  father,  and  throws  herself  into 
his  arms,  while  the  children  cling  around  the  knees  of  their 
delighted  parents.  A  melancholy  contrast  was  presented  by 
those  who  sought  in  vain  for  son  — husband  —  parent.  But 
no  complaint  was  heard.  The  tears  falling  for  those  who 
were  no  more,  were  checked  by  the  thought  that  they  had  died 
for  their  country. 

The  senate,  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  and  in  the  most 
touching  language,  thanked  the  commander  in  chief  and  his 
officers  for  the  services  which  they  had  rendered  to  their 
country,  and  requested  them  to  communicate  these  sentiments 
to  the  whole  army.  They  finished  their  address  in  nearly  the 
following  terms :    *  Preserve,  brave  compatriots,  this  noble 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  131 

On  the  night  of  the  18th  our  army  took  the 
following  position.     [See  Plan  VII.]      Our  left 

energy,  and  in  a  short  time  the  throne  of  despotism  will 
fall,  and  upon  its  ruins  civilization  and  public  happiness 
will  rise.*  The  people  continued  with  the  army,  furnishing 
them  with  every  comfort,  and  regardless  of  the  fire  which 
was  commenced  the  next  day  from  the  enemy's  artillery. 
Under  this  fire,  vehicles  with  provisions  and  ammunition 
were  continually  arriving  from  the  city,  and  some  of  them 
were  destroyed  by  the  enemy's  shot.  During  the  actions 
before  Warsaw,  the  inhabitants  made  it  a  duty  to  be  at 
hand,  to  bear  off  and  succor  the  wounded  ;  and  among 
those  who  engaged  in  these  offices  were  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  ladies  of  Warsaw.  The  strangers  who  were 
then  there,  and  who  witnessed  the  enthusiasm  which  ani- 
mated the  people,  and  seemed  to  unite  them  into  one  family, 
exclaimed  that  such  a  nation  could  never,  and  ought  never 
be  conquered. 

The  following  days,  the  21st,  22nd,  and  23rd  of  February, 
in  which  no  action  took  place,  were  devoted  to  thanksgiving 
to  God,  for  his  favor  in  protecting  the  Polish  cause  thus  far. 
In  all  the  churches  the  people  assembled  to  offer  prayers 
for  the  welfare  of  the  country  ;  and  the  army  employed  this 
period  of  repose  in  the  same  manner.  On  that  field,  over 
which  the  three  hundred  cannon  of  the  enemy  were  pointed 
in  battle  array  ;  while  the  first  line  was  in  position,  the  rest  of 
the  army  were  engaged  in  these  devotional  exercises.  At 
each  assemblage  of  troops,  the  ministers  of  religion  admin- 
istered patriotic  oaths,  and  animated  the  soldiers  to  perse- 
verance in  the  holy  struggle.  Those  sacred  ceremonies 
were  followed  by  hymns,  which  were  sung  along  the  whole 
line,  and  which,  mingling  with  the  solemn  sounds  of  the 
bells  of  Warsaw  tolling  for  the  assembly  of  the  people  in 
the  churches,  produced  an  indescribably  impressive  effect. 
These  exercises  ended  in  the  general  shout  of '  Poland  for- 
ever !' 

To  convince  the  Russians  that  the  Poles  were  not  blind- 
ly fighting  against  them  as  Russians,  but  for  that  cause  of 
civilization  and  happiness  which  was  of  equal  moment  to 
themselves,  several  hundred  white  flags  were  prepared  with 
inscriptions  in  the  Russian  language,  in  terms  such  as  fol- 
lows :  *  Russians  !  brother  Sarmatians  !  we  march  to  com- 
bat not  as  your  enemies,  but  to  fight  for  your  welfare  as 
well  as  our  own.'     Each   regiment  received  from  ten  to 


132  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

wing  was  between  Jablonna  (16)  and  Zombki 
(15),  and  sent  out  its  reconnoisances  as  far  as 
Zagroby  (4),  upon  the  Narew  (N),  the  bridge 
over  which  at  that  place  thej  destroyed.  Our 
centre  was  between  Okuniew  (11)  and  Zombki 
(15).     Our  right  wing  was  at  Wavre  (17). 

After  two  such  bloody  days,  as  the  preceding 
had  been  for  the  Russians,  we  cannot  sufficiently 
express  our  astonishment  that  marshal  Diebitsch 
should  have  allowed  his  army  no  repose,  but  should 
have  again  pushed  his  attack,  without  any  new 
plan,  on  the  19th  and  20th.  These  operations  of 
Diebitsch,  without  an  assignable  end,  indicated  a 
blind  confidence  in  numbers,  or  the  headlong  fury 
of  a  man  inflamed  by  the  renown  which  he  had 
acquired,  and  who  was  determined  to  make  the 
event  bear  out  as  nearly  as  possible,  whatever 
sacrifice  it  might  cost,  the  rash  boast  which  he  is 
said  to  have   made,  that  he  would  finish  the  war 

twenty  of  those  flags,  which,  during  the  combat,  were  to  be 
distributed  among  the  tirailleurs  and  flankers.  They  were 
directed  to  throw  them,  as  occasion  might  off*er,  among  the 
Russian  ranks.  Many  of  those  volunteers,  in  rushing  for- 
ward to  plant  those  flags  among  the  Russian  skirmishers, 
met  their  death  at  the  hands  of  those  whom  they  wished  to 
save  from  tyranny.  Thus  the  Poles  had  done  all  that  their 
duty  required  of  them  in  this  holy  contest,  to  convince  the 
world  that  the  general  cause  of  civilization  and  happiness 
was  the  great  end  of  their  struggle.  They  sought  not  their 
own  aggrandizement  by  conquests  from  the  territory  of 
another  nation,  for  their  ancient  boundaries  are  wide  enough 
for  them.  They  fought  for  that  liberty  which  they  had  for 
ages  possessed  ;  and  that  ancient  liberty  and  those  ancient 
limits  they  will  sooner  or  later  regain. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  133 

in  twenty-four  hours.     But  he  sacrificed  his  thous- 
ands in  vain.    • 

On  the  19th  an  action 'took  place,  not  only  with 
the  grand  army  under  the  walls  of  Warsaw,  or  on 
the  fields  of  Praga,  but  also  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Vistula  at  Swierza  [(7)  PL  VI],  forty  miles 
from  Warsaw,  where  general  Dwernicki  beat 
prince  Wirtemberg,  who,  as  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, had  passed  the  Vistula  at  Pulawa  [(6)  PL 
VI],  and  was  approaching  Warsaw  [(1)  PL  VI]. 


BATTLE  OF  WAVRE   AND  BIALOLENKA.     [PL  VIII  and  IX.] 

At  the  break  of  day,  upon  every  point,  the  right 
wing,  the  centre,  and  the  left  wing,  our  line  wa^ 
attacked.  We  might  remark  in  regard  to  the  po- 
sitions of  the  two  armies  on  that  day,  that  our 
right  wing,  (A)  which  was  at  Wavre,  was  unpro- 
tected, while  on  the  other  hand  the  left  wing  (C) 
of  the  enemy,  opposite  to  it,  was  very  advantage- 
ously placed  on  heights  covered  with  wood,  be- 
twen  Milosna  and  Wavre.  Our  centre  (B)  was 
better  posted  at  Kawenzyn.  It  occupied  this 
village,  (which  was  in  a  commanding  position,) 
and  the  declivity  descending  from  it  to  the  plain 
of  Zombki.  Our  left  wing  at  Bialolenka  was  also 
advantageously  covered  by  little  wooded  hills,  hav- 
ing two  dykes  in  front  leading  toward  them. 

The  Russians  on  that  day  directed  their  strong- 
est attack  upon  our  right  wing,  which  occupied  the 

17 


134  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

weakest  position.  With  the  view  of  carrying  this 
position,  they  sent  against  it  some  forty  battalions 
of  infantry  and  some  thifty  squadrons  of  cavalry, 
supported  by  seventy  pieces  of  artillery.  Our  po- 
sition was  defended  by  a  division  of  about  ten  bat- 
talions of  infantry  and  fifteen  squadrons  of  artillery, 
supported  by  twenty-four  pieces  of  artillery.  This 
enormous  disproportion  did  not  discourage  our  sol- 
diers. Their  energy  supplied  the  place  of  num- 
bers. The  enemy  commenced  his  attack  by  a 
warm  fire  of  light  troops  and  a  fire  from  his  artil- 
lery, which  commanded  the  plain.  The  skilful 
manoeuvres  of  general  Zimirski,  in  displaying,  his 
front,  contracting  it,  dividing  it  into  small  parties, 
and  withdrawing  or  advancing,  as  the  direction  of 
the  enemy's  artillery  required,  and  thus  avoiding 
the  effect  of  his  fire,  prevented  the  loss  which  it 
would  else  have  occasioned.  In  this  way  several 
hours  were  occupied,  when  the  enemy,  trusting  to 
the  impression  which  he  supposed  his  fire  to  have 
made,  at  about  ten  o'clock  sent  forward  twelve  or 
more  battalions  (D)  to  the  charge.  General  Zim- 
irski, anticipating  this  movement,  withdrew,  in  or- 
der to  lead  them  on  to  the  plain  between  Wavre 
and  Grokow,  sending  to  general  Skrzynecki  an 
aid-de-camp  to  inform  him  of  this  manoeuvre,  and 
to  engage  him  to  send  a  force  of  cavalry  to  act 
upon  the  enemy's  columns  in  flank.  General  Skr- 
zynecki, who  occupied,  as  we  have  stated,  the 
heights  of  Kawenzyn,  was  also  warmly  engaged 
with  a  brigade  of  the  enemy,  and  had  already  ob- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  135 

served  this  imprudent  advance  of  the  enemy  in  his 
attack,  who  had  indeed  gone  beyond  the  line  of 
Skrzynecki's  position.  In  a  moment  the  order 
was  given  for  the  brigade  of  general  Kicki  to  throw 
themselves  upon  the  enemy's  flank  ;  and  as  gene- 
ral Kicki  approached  with  the  ten  squadrons  (E) 
which  composed  his  command,  general  Zimirski 
gave  orders  for  a  general  charge  both  upon  the 
enenay's  cavalry  (F)  and  infantry  (D).  The  col- 
umns of  the  enemy  were  carried  away  before  these 
charges,  and  their  attack  was  wholly  paralyzed. 
This  onset,  which  was  so  successfully  made,  forced 
the  enemy  (H)  to  incline  his  position  back  from 
Kawenzyn  to  Milosna.  That  manoeuvre  was  deci- 
sive of  the  enemy's  fate,  and  it  was  well  under- 
stood by  our  generals.  General  Skrzynecki,  by 
pushing  forward  the  left  of  his  division,  cut  ofl*  the 
right  wing  of  the  enemy  from  all  communication 
with  his  centre,  and  at  about  mid-day  our  right 
wing  and  centre  occupied  their  former  position  at 
Wavre,  including  the  small  forest  of  elders  which 
was  between  the  enemy's  left  wing  and  centre ; 
and,  in  fact,  general  Skrzynecki  occupied  a  part 
also  of  the  Great  Forest.  This  state  of  things  was 
to  be  profited  by,  and  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy, 
thus  separated,  was  to  be  attacked  before  the  ene- 
my should  be  able  to  renew  his  attack  upon  Ka- 
wenzyn, and  the  forest  of  elders,  and  our  right 
wing.  To  execute  this  plan,  the  two  divisions  of 
Krukowiecki  and  Szembek,  composing  our  left 
wing,  which  was  fighting  at  Bialolenka,  [i^ee  Plan 


136  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

IX]  received  orders  to  push  a  strong  attack  against 
the  enemy's  front,  at  the  same  moment  that  a  bri- 
gade (B)  of  Skrzynecki's  division,  supported  by 
some  pieces  of  cannon,  operated  upon  the  road  (a) 
leading  from  Kawenzyn  (6)  to  Zombki  (k).  By 
this  manoeuvre  the  enemy  was  menaced  with  being 
taken  in  the  rear. 

The  left  wing,  as  we  have  said,  was  warmly 
engaged  with  the  superior  force  of  the  Russians  ; 
who,  by  placing  some  fifty  pieces  of  cannon  (f) 
behind  the  two  dykes  (e)  above  named,  kept  up  a 
sweeping  fire  of  grape  upon  our  artillery  (d)  and 
infantry  (c),  which  were  defending  the  passage  of 
the  dykes.  A  considerable  body  of  the  enemy  had 
already  reached  the  hither  side  of  the  dykes,  when 
general  Uminski,  with  a  brigade  of  cavalry  (D), 
advanced  to  the  charge,  and  at  the  same  time  com- 
municated the  orders  to  the  two  divisions  to  com- 
mence the  general  attack.  Under  a  warm  fire  of 
grape,  our  cavalry  threw  themselves  upon  the  ene- 
my's infantry,  which  had  debouched  over  the 
dykes.  A  general  charge  commenced,  and  our 
cavalry  penetrated  the  enemy's  masses.  The  2nd 
and  ord  regiments  of  chasseurs  distinguished  them- 
selves by  their  feats  of  bravery.  The  enemy  was 
repulsed,  and  began  to  fall  back  and  crowd  upon 
the  dykes,  and  at  this  moment  their  route  was  ef- 
fected. A  brigade  (B)  from  general  Skrzynecki's 
division  arrived,  and  commenced  a  fire  of  grape 
upon  the  dykes,  over  which  the  enemy  was  flying 
in  the  greatest  disorder.     Their  ranks  were  in  the 


VUo  nff*. 


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THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  137 

Utmost  confusion ;  they  crowded  with  precipitation 
upon  the  dykes,  exposed  continually  to  our  destruc- 
tive fire.  By  this  repulse  the  whole  of  the  ene- 
my's right  wing  was  broken,  and  they  commenced 
a  general  retreat,  leaving  a  great  number  of  pris- 
oners, who  either  had  not  reached  the  dykes  or 
could  not  get  from  them,  amounting  to  perhaps  a 
thousand  men,  besides  another  thousand  killed  and 
wounded.  The  enemy  also  lost  two  standards, 
four  pieces  of  cannon,  several  chests  of  ammuni- 
tion, and  many  horses. 

In  this  manner  ended  the  attack  upon  that  wing  ; 
and  indeed  the  general  attack  might  be  said  to 
have  ended  here.  Towards  night  the  enemy  re- 
newed his  attacks  upon  our  centre  and  right,  but 
they  were  feeble.  Thus  closed  another  day, 
which,  like  the  preceding,  was  most  propitious  to 
our  arms. 


BATTLE  AT  SWIERZA.     [See  Plan  X.] 

On  this  same  day,  as  we  have  mentioned,  gen- 
eral Dwernicki,  with  a  detached  corps,  fought  the 
enemy  at  Swierza.  The  reader  is  already  aware 
that  this  general,  having  gained  a  victory  over  the 
corps  of  general  Kreutz  at  Stoczek  [^Plan  VI, 
(18)],  on  the  14th  of  February,  received  orders  to 
pass  the  Vistula,  in  order  to  defend  the  palatinate 
of  Mazovie,  to  check  the  operations  of  the  enemy 
there,  and  to  obstruct  his  demonstrations  upon 
Warsaw. 


m 


138  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

On  receiving  this  order,  general  Dwernicki,  on 
the  night  of  the  same  day,  quitted  Stoczek,  trav- 
ersed Zelechov\^  (19)  and  Macieiowice,  and  on  the 
17th  passed  the  Vistula  near  Rjczyv^ol  (7).  On 
the  18th  he  commenced  his  operations  against  the 
corps  of  prince  Wirtemberg,  which  was  on  its  way 
from  Radom,  and  the  advanced  guard  of  which 
begun  to  show  itself  upon  the  plain  of  RyczywoL* 


*  The  prince  Wirtemberg,  who  commanded  the  corps 
against  which  general  Dwernicki  was  sent,  had  served  in 
the  Pohsh  army  as  brigadier-general.  He  was  cousin  to  the 
present  king  of  Wirtemberg,  and  nephew  of  the  late  Em- 
peror Alexander,  who  married  his  aunt.  This  prince  com- 
manded the  2d  and  4th  regiment  of  hulans,  of  the  first  of 
which  regiments  general  Dwernicki  was  colonel.  In  this 
way  the  prince  was  perfectly  well  known  to  general  Dwer- 
nicki, and  was  held  by  him  in  very  low  esteem,  as  a  man  of 
vanity  and  pretension,  and  a  tyrant  over  his  subalterns. 
The  vices  of  his  character  developed  themselves  sufficiently 
during  our  revolution.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolu- 
tion at  Warsaw,  this  man  was  at  Krasny-staw,  a  small  town 
in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin,  in  which  his  brigade  was  posted. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  the  revolution,  his  first  care  was 
to  secrete  himself.  Afterwards,  finding  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  keep  concealed,  he  began  to  tamper  with  the  brigade, 
and  tried  to  persuade  his  soldiers  to  adhere  to  the  service  of 
the  Grand  Duke,  and  to  refuse  to  join  the  cause  of  their 
country.  These  false  persuasions,  coming  from  him,  a  gen- 
eral in  the  Polish  service,  in  open  defiance  of  the  will  of 
the  nation,  and  in  opposition  to  its  holiest  efforts,  afforded  a 
sufficient  ground  of  accusation  against  him,  to  have  brought 
him  to  judgment  as  a  traitor.  Besides  all  this,  by  his  tyran- 
nic conduct  as  a  general,  he  had  deserved  severe  treatment. 
But  all  these  offences  were  forgotten,  and  the  nation  spared 
him,  merely  ordering  him  to  quit  the  country.  He  exhibited 
his  gratitude  for  this  delicate  treatment,  by  departing  for 
Russia  and  the  Polish  provinces,  and  pointing  out  for  arrest 
some  of  the  most  respectable  citizens,  who  were  known  for 
their  patriotic  sentiments.  He  passed  several  days  at  Wloda- 
wa,  a  small  frontier  town  between  the  Polish  kingdom  and  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  139 

General  Dwernicki  harassed  the  enemy  on  that 
day  [See  Plan  X,]  by  continual  charges  of  cavalry, 
in  which  the  krakus  of  Krakowie  were  particularly 
distinguished.  His  only  plan  upon  that  day  was 
to  keep  the  enemy  upon  the  plain  of  Ryczywol. 
During  the  night  he  intended  to  pass,  with  the 
chief  part  of  his  force,  the  river  Radomierza  above 
Ryczywol  (f),  and  by  this  course  to  present  him- 

government  of  Grodno.  There  he  was  guilty  of  the  mean 
act  of  intercepting  the  correspondence  between  the  different 
patriotic  individuals. 

This  was  not  enough.  In  the  campaign^  he  took  the  com- 
mand of  a  Russian  corps  destined  to  act  in  the  very  palati- 
nate of  Lublin  where  he  had  held  his  Polish  command  for 
fourteen  years,  and  where  all  the  proprietors  had  treated 
him  with  the  greatest  kindness  and  delicacy.  Arriving  there 
with  his  corps,  he  left  at  every  step  the  traces  of  his  tyran- 
ny. On  reaching  Pulawa,  the  estate  of  the  beloved  Czar- 
toriski,  the  president  of  the  national  government,  the  res- 
idence of  that  family  from  which  he  had  himself  received 
so  many  kindnesses,  and  in  which  every  virtue  reigned,  he 
did  not  scruple  to  give  orders  to  burn  the  town  ;  — he  did  not 
scruple  to  take  the  name  in  history  of  '  the  devastator  of 
Pulawa'  —  of  that  beautiful  spot  on  which  the  labor  of  ages 
had  been  expended,  and  which  was  so  celebrated  for  the 
charms  with  which  nature  as  well  as  art  had  enriched  it. 
His  cruelties  were  carried  to  such  a  height,  that  he  actually 
caused  to  be  beaten  with  the  knout,  a  young  lady,  a  friend 
of  the  princess  Czartoriski,  who  had  manifested  her  patri- 
otic sentiments  by  the  sacrifice  of  her  jewels  to  aid  the  cause 
of  her  country.  Even  the  princess  Czartoriski,  who  was 
already  at  an  advanced  age,  was  not  spared  the  insults  of 
this  gross  man,  who,  to  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  his  bar- 
barity, on  his  second  visit  to  Pulawa,  directed  a  fire  of  ar- 
tillery upon  the  palace,  which  he  knew  was  occupied  only 
by  the  princess  and  her  ladies.  Even  the  Russians  themselves 
regarded  these  actions  with  abhorrence.  In  regard  to  his 
military  talents,  they  were  of  the  lowest  order.  General 
Dwernicki  promised  that  in  a  few  weeks  he  would  despatch 
him ;  and  he  in  fact  kept  this  promise  to  the  letter. 


140  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

self  to  the  enemj  upon  the  road  which  leads  from 
Radom  to  Rjczywol,  the  same  road  in  fact  upon 
which  the  enemy  had  advanced,  and  attack  him 
both  on  his  flank  and  rear,  the  Vistula  being  on 
his  front.  In  executing  this  movement,  general 
Dwernicki  left  two  squadrons  of  cavalry  (A),  one 
battalion  of  infantry  (A),  and  two  pieces  of  can- 
non, at  the  side  of  the  river,  under  the  command 
of  colonel  Russyian.  He  then  quietly  left  his  po- 
sition, and  crossed  the  river  in  its  fordable  places 
(y)  about  half  a  league  above.  Colonel  Russyian, 
who  as  we  have  said  remained  on  the  position  at 
Ryczywol,  was  ordered  to  commence  a  light  fire 
of  skirmishers  at  break  of  day,  but  to  retrograde 
constantly,  and  to  allow  the  enemy  an  easy  pas- 
sage over  the  bridge.  On  the  19th,  the  enemy 
(D),  who  had  no  suspicions  of  the  manoeuvre, 
commenced  in  the  morning  his  debouchment  upon 
the  bridge,  having  the  expectation  of  engaging  with 
our  whole  force  in  a  decisive  battle  upon  the  field 
of  Ryczywol.  His  astonishment  may  be  imagined, 
when,  as  the  day  commenced,  he  found  both  upon 
his  flank  and  his  rear  a  force  marching  against 
him  to  the  attack  (B).  The  enemy  stopped  pass- 
ing the  bridge,  and  attempted  to  turii  and  meet 
the  attack,  but  this  was  not  permitted  him.  Our 
cavalry  threw  themselves  with  impetuosity  upon 
that  part  of  his  forces  which  were  attempting  to 
place  themselves  in  position ;  and  our  artillery, 
which  was  boldly  brought  near  the  enemy's  col- 
umns, poured  a  terribly  destructive  fire  of  grape 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  14] 

upon  them.  The  utmost  consternation  ensued,  and 
a  general  and  disorderly  flight  was  commenced  in 
the  direction  of  Nowa-wies  (N),  to  which  place  our 
corps  continued  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  (R). 

This  day,  which  may  be  called  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  in  our  war,  cost  the  enemy,  besides  his 
killed  and  wounded,  two  thousand  prisoners,  with 
more  than  twenty  officers,  four  standards,  ten 
pieces  of  cannon,  some  hundred  horses,  and  about 
thirty  chests  with  ammunition,  with  officers'  bag- 
gage, &c.  The  prince  Wirtemberg  with  the  re- 
mains of  his  corps  retreated  by  forced  marches  to 
the  small  town  of  Granica,  where  he  repassed  the 
Vistula  and  reached  Pulawa.  Thus,  by  a  single 
battle,  the  whole  country  on  this  side  of  the  Vis- 
tula was  cleared  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy. 

General  Dwernicki  permitted  to  his  corps,  who 
were  really  much  exhausted  by  fighting  and  march- 
ing, to  repose  by  a  slow  march  as  far  as  Kozie- 
nice,  where  he  remained  stationary,  sending  out, 
however,  his  reconnoisances  as  far  as  Pulawa. 

On  the  20th  of  February  our  main  army  was 
engaged  with  the  enemy  the  whole  day  upon  the 
same  position  as  on  the  preceding.  This  repetition 
of  his  attack,  without  a  change  of  plan  or  position, 
was  a  great  weakness  in  the  enemy.  On  that 
day,  feeling  sensibly  the  loss  of  a  part  of  the  great 
forest  opposite  Kawenzyn,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
small  forest  of  elders,  the  enemy  commenced  his 
attack  upon  those  points.  Some  twenty  battalions 
were  incessantly  pushed  forward  to  the  attack, 
18 


142  THE  l»OLISH  REVOLUTION. 

against  which  eight  battalions  on  our  part  kept  an 
effectual  stand  for.  several  hours.  This  day,  al- 
though uninteresting  and  indecisive  in  manoeuvres, 
was  bloody.  No  important  blow  was  attempted 
by  us,  but  every  attack  of  the  enemy  was  met  with 
a  vigorous  and  sanguinary  repulse.  It  was  a  day 
of  glory  for  the  4th  regiment  —  the  day  on  which 
that  celebrated  regiment,  though  already  distin- 
guished, began  to  take  its  high  place  in  our  re- 
ports ;  and  on  which  it  fought  with  a  degree  of 
valor  that  could  never  have  been  surpassed.  With- 
out even  waiting  for  orders,  this  brave  regiment 
was  seen  constantly  pushing  itself  towards  the 
points  of  the  greatest  danger  ;  and  its  companies 
were  often  fighting  singly  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
thickest  masses  of  the  enemy. 

By  the  unsuccessful  and  costly  attacks  of  the 
enemy  the  whole  day  was  occupied,  and  at  its 
close,  after  the  loss  of  thousands  of  men,  he  had 
not  gained  a  foot  of  ground. 

Thus  ten  days  had  passed  in  continual  and 
bloody  actions  upon  the  same  position,  during 
which  the  Polish  army  had  been  uniformly  suc- 
cessful, and  at  the  end  of  which  the  enemy  discon- 
tinued his  attacks,  thus  giving  the  most  convincing 
proof  of  the  extent  of  the  losses  he  had  suffered 
on  all  points,  during  that  period,  amounting,  in  fact, 
in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners,  to  full  30,000 
men.  In  this  space  of  ten  days,  the  whole  Russian 
army  had  been  engaged,  and  that  army  amounted, 
as  we  have  already  said,  and  as  will  be  confirmed 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  143 

by  all  the  official  reports,  to  more  than  150,000 
infantry,  50,000  cavalry,  and  300  pieces  of  cannon. 
To  this  force  w^as  opposed  a  handful,  compara- 
tively, of  Poles,  consisting  of  30,000  infantry, 
12,000  cavalry,  and  96  pieces  of  cannon  ;  a  sixth 
part,  in  fact,  of  the  Russian  force. 

This  memorable  commencement  of  our  w^ar  w^ill 
show  to  the  vs^orld  vrhat  can  be  effected  by  a  na- 
tion fighting  in  defence  of  its  liberty  and  to  throw 
off  an  oppressive  yoke.  Those  bloody  combats, 
and  that  enthusiasm,  to  which  my  feeble  pen  can- 
not render  justice,  but  which  some  better  historian 
will  present  to  the  world  in  their  true  colors,  should 
convince  men  that  the  immense  mercenary  forces 
which  a  despot  may  lead  on,  and  by  which  he 
trusts  to  enforce  his  will,  may  avail  him  little. 
His  enormous  masses  are  like  a  heap  of  sand, 
which  a  little  stone  can  pierce.  AVithout  animat- 
ing motives,  and  therefore  without  energy,  —  a 
machine  scarcely  to  be  trusted,  —  that  army  itself, 
upon  the  slightest  change  of  circumstances,  may 
become  terrible  to  the  despot,  of  whom  and  of 
whose  creatures  it  was  to  have  been  made  the 
unhappy  sacrifice. 

The  reader  will  pardon  me,  if  I  fatigue  him  with 
farther  reflections  upon  this  stage  of  our  affairs. 
I  shall  not  exaggerate  in  saying  that  this  enor- 
mous mass  of  the  enemy's  forces  would  in  an  equal 
period  have  been  absolutely  annihilated,  if  we  had 
then  had  a  commander  in  chief  of  greater  talent, 
and  a  general  plan  of  operation  differently  arranged, 


144  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

—  for  the  different  operations  in  detail  were,  gener- 
ally speaking,  perfectly  executed.  The  comman- 
der in  chief,  prince  Radzivil,  was  an  individual  of 
the  most  estimable  character,  but  as  he  afterwards 
himself  avowed,  not  possessed  of  military  talent. 
General  Chlopicki,  who  was  always  near  him,  and 
who  in  fact  virtually  commanded,  if  he  had  in  the 
early  part  of  his  life  exhibited  military  talent,  in 
his  present  advanced  age  had  certainly  lost  much 
of  his  energy,  and  was  unfit  to  undertake  things 
which  demanded  the  most  active  intellect,  and  the 
most  absolute  devotedness  of  mind  and  body  to 
the  cause.  We  cannot  too  strongly  express  our 
astonishment  that  general  Chlopicki,  who  had 
formed  the  plan,  and  a  very  judicious  one  it  was, 
of  drawing  the  enemy  on  to  the  walls  of  Warsaw, 
to  give  him  there  a  decisive  battle,  should  have 
neglected  to  fortify  the  natural  positions  upon  his 
route,  by  which  the  enemy's  loss  would  have  been 
doubled  or  even  trebled.  Serock  and  Zagroby 
(4),  \_See  Plan  VI],  situated  upon  points  of  the 
greatest  importance,  especially  the  first,  were 
evacuated  by  our  forces,  for  the  want  of  proper 
defences.  Not  the  slightest  fortification  was  con- 
structed at  the  different  passages  of  the  Narew 
(N),  the  Bug  (B),  the  Liewiec  (L),  and  the  Swi- 
der  (S),  nor  upon  the  region  between  those  rivers, 
which  was  full  of  forests  and  impenetrable  marshes, 
and  in  which  proper  fortifications  would  have  pre- 
sented the  most  important  obstructions  to  the  ene- 
my's passage.     No  concealed  passages  or  by-roads 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  145 

through  those  forests  were  constructed,  as  they 
should  have  been,  by  which  a  body  of  troops  could 
be  led  in  ambuscade  and  brought  to  act  suddenly 
on  the  enemy's  flanks  or  otherwise,  in  critical 
moments,  and  with  decisive  effect.  Such  works 
would  have  required  but  little  expense,  and  could 
have  been  made  by  the  Jewish  inhabitants,  of 
whom  there  are  some  millions  in  Poland,  (twenty 
thousand  in  Warsaw  alone,)  and  who  could  have 
no  claims  for  exemption,  for  they  render  no  service 
to  the  country,  but  on  the  contrary  lead  a  life  of 
profitable  fraud  and  deception,  practised  upon 
the  inhabitants.  The  Jews,  indeed,  with  some 
very  few  exceptions,  did  not  in  the  least  aid  in  the 
war,  but  often  frustrated  our  exertions  by  their 
espionage  ;  and  there  are  in  fact  instances  of  their 
having  fought  against  us,  —  against  those  who  had 
given  them  an  asylum  upon  their  soil.  In  the 
towns  of  Nasielsk  and  Makow  this  occurred.  This 
part  of  our  population,  who  had  an  equal  interest 
with  us  in  the  protection  of  the  country,  as  far  as 
property  was  concerned,  could  have  been  thus  em- 
ployed with  perfect  justice  and  propriety.  If,  by 
such  arrangements,  a  system  of  fortification  had 
been  properly  united  with  tactics,  and  all  the  plans 
directed  by  a  man  of  talents  and  energy,  of  which 
examples  were  certainly  to  be  found  in  our  ranks, 
with  such  troops  to  command,  the  reader  will  ad- 
mit that  the  Russian  forces  could  have  been  soon 
driven  back  to  the  frontiers. 

The  succession  of  victories  which  we  have  de- 


146  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

scribed  were  not  the  results  of  any.general  system: 
—  they  were  victories  of  detail,  executed  with 
energy  and  rapidity,  and  for  which  we  were  in- 
debted to  the  generals  of  divisions  and  brigades, 
the  colonels  of  regiments,  &:c.  These  successes 
were  isolated,  but,  had  they  been  made  to  bear 
upon  each  other,  their  advantages  would  have  been 
much  greater.  For  example,  the  battle  of  Dobre, 
which  was  so  brilliantly  gained  by  Skrzynecki, 
would  have  caused  the  total  ruin  of  the  corps  op- 
posed to  him,  if  the  11th  division  of  Krukowiecki, 
which  was  in  the  environs  of  Jadow,  had  come  to 
the  aid  of  Skrzynecki  during  that  action.  And 
indeed  this  was  the  expectation  of  Skrzynecki 
when  he  remained  so  long  upon  the  position  of 
Makowiec.  But  this  division,  instead  of  acting 
upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  as  it  might  have  done, 
having  no  orders  to  this  effect,  continued  its  retro- 
grade march,  although  within  the  sound  of  the 
cannon  of  that  action. 

On  the  18th  there  was  not  enough  of  harmony 
in  the  operations  of  the  several  divisions.  On  that 
day,  if  those  operations  had  been  directed  from 
one  point  as  from  a  centre,  the  enemy,  who  had 
been  guilty  of  extreme  imprudence  in  the  advance 
which  he  had  made  into  the  marshy  and  wooded 
region  between  Stanislawow  (9),  Okuniew  (11), 
and  the  great  road,  could  have  been  completely 
hedged  in.  [See  Plan  VI.]  The  manoeuvres  of 
general  Zimirski,  when  the  enemy  made  his  rapid 
attack  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  were  executed 


.THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  147 

at  hazard,  no  general  order  having  been  given  in 
anticipation  of  such  an  attack.  These  manoeuvres 
were  well  executed  by  general  Zimirski :  but  if 
the  case  had  been  thus  anticipated  by  the  com- 
mander in  chief,  and,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
action,  our  right  wdng  had  been  withdrawn  to 
Grochow,  \_See  (A)  PlanYll\,']3.n  obstinate  de- 
fence of  the  commanding  position  of  Kawenzjn 
(B)  being  kept  up,  and  the  enemy  had  been  thus 
allowed  to  follow  our  right  wing  with  his  left ; 
by  the  same  method  of  operation  which  was  in  fact 
executed  by  Skrzynecki  and  Zimirski,  in  concert, 
but  with  much  larger  forces  ;  the  enemy  could 
have  been  attacked  on  his  flank,  and  instead  of 
the  annihilation  of  his  sixteen  battalions,  the  same 
fate  would  have  attended  twice  or  thrice  that 
number  ;  —  for,  when  a  force  is  taken  by  surprise 
in  flank  and  rear,  numbers  avail  comparatively 
little  in  resistance;  —  indeed,  the  greater  the  num- 
ber, the  greater  is  the  difficulty  of  changing  posi- 
tion, and  the  greater  the  disorder  and  consterna- 
tion which  follows. 

The  Russian  army  was  thus  early  inspired  with 
terror  at  the  resistance  which  it  had  experienced, 
and  the  immense  losses  to  which  it  had  been  sub- 
jected. It  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  profit 
by  this  consternation ;  but  the  vast  advantages 
which  might  have  been  gained  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, by  some  general  plan  of  offensive  op- 
erations of  bold  and  decisive  character,  w^ere  let 
pass. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Proceedings  of  the  National  Government. — Marshal  Diebitsch  continues 
in  a  state  of  inactivity. — Negotiations  are  opened  by  him. — ^His  prop- 
ositions are  declined. — Position  of  the  army  on  the  24th,  and  battle  of 
Bialolenka. — Position  on  the  2.5th. — Great  battle  of  Grochow. — De- 
tails.— State  of  the  Russian  army  after  its  defeat. — Examination  of 
the  plan  of  the  battle  of  Grochow. — Remarks  upon  the  course  adopt- 
ed by  prince  Radzivil  after  that  victory. —  The  Polish  army  crosses 
the  Vistula  to  Warsaw. — Its  reception  by  the  national  government 
and  the  citizens. — Resignation  of  prince  Radzivil. 

Whilst  the  army  was  thus  gloriously  fighting, 
the  national  government  were  laboring  for  the  hap- 
piness of  the  people.  Among  other  valuable  in- 
stitutions, it  adopted  a  paternal  guardianship  over 
the  defenders  of  the  country  by  designating  an  al- 
lotment of  lands  for  each  soldier.  Many  of  the 
most  wealthy  families  contributed  of  their  landed 
property  for  that  object.  Another  act  was  to  free 
the  peasantry  from  the  Corvee,  by  purchasing  the 
rights  of  the  landholders  over  them.  Each  peasant 
was  made  a  proprietor,  and  for  the  landholders  an 
arrangement  of  compensation  in  the  form  of  annual 
instalments  for  a  period  of  years,  was  made  by  the 
government.  Other  institutions  for  the  public 
welfare,  as  the  establishment  of  schools,  &c,  re- 
ceived also  the  attention  of  the  government. 

When,  after  so  many  battles,  the  Russian  com- 
mander discontinued  his  attacks,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed that  besides  the  repose  which  his  army  re- 
quired, he  had  another  object,  viz.  to  wait  the 
arrival  of  new  corps,  consisting  of  20,000  men, 
and  36  pieces  of  cannon,  under  prince  Sczachow- 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  149 

ski.  He  evidently  wished  to  concentrate  all  his 
small  detachments  and  all  his  reserves,  in  order  to 
strike,  with  his  whole  force,  a  decisive  blow  ;  and 
the  attempt  was,  in  fact,  soon  made. 

Our  army,  which  in  the  ten  preceding  days  had 
lost  about  six  thousand  men,  was  reinforced  by 
three  regiments  armed  with  pitchforks,  amounting 
to  about  the  number  we  had  lost.  Our  whole 
army,  infantry  and  cavalry,  may  have  amounted  to 
40,000  men,  and,  with  the  pieces  taken  from  the 
enemy,  100  cannon.  —  The  Russian  army,  with  the 
new  corps  of  Sczachowski,  amounted  to  188,000 
men  and  316  pieces  of  cannon,  deducting  the  artil- 
lery which  had  been  lost  or  dismounted. 

Marshal  Diebitsch,  before  commencing  hostile 
operations,  opened  negotiations,  and,  for  this  pur- 
pose, sent  a  general  of  division,  Witt,  with  a  flag 
of  truce  to  our  head-quarters.  This  general  was 
stopped  at  our  advanced  post,  whither  general 
Krukowiecki  was  sent  by  the  commander  in  chief, 
with  full  powers,  to  meet  him.  General  Witt 
commenced  with  expressions  of  the  greatest  sensi- 
bility, and  enlarged  much  upon  the  friendship  which 
ousht  to  exist  between  the  Poles  and  the  Russians 
as  brother  nations.  He  then  spoke  in  very  flatter- 
ing terms  of  the  heroism  of  the  Poles,  lamenting 
that  it  was  not  displayed  in  a  better  cause.  After 
much  complimentary  language,  he  insensibly  passed 
to  the  ideas  of  duty  and  obedience  to  the  monarch. 
General  Krukowiecki,  who  understood  perfectly 
well  all  these  professions,  which  he  knew  to  be  in- 
19 


150  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

sidious,  answered  nearly  in  the  following  laconic 
terms :  *  General,  after  the  sad  circumstances 
which  have  taken  place,  after  the  bloody  combats 
to  which  we  have  been  forced  by  the  tyranny  of 
fifteen  years,  by  the  refusal  of  justice,  and  in  fine 
by  the  violation  of  our  frontier,  and  the  laying 
waste  of  our  territory, — upon  this  territory  we  can 
make  no  arrangements.  You  know  well  what  are 
the  frontiers  of  Poland.  Upon  the  banks  of  the 
Dnieper,  four  hundred  miles  hence,  we  may  enter 
into  negotiations.' 

Thus  all  was  ready  for  the  sanguinary  battle  of 
two  days,  which  followed,  and  one  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  war.  It  commenced  by  a  combat  on 
the  24th  at  Bialolenka,  and  ended  on  the  25th  on 
the  plain  of  Grochow. 

POSITION  ON  THE  24th,  AND  BATTLE  OF  BIALOLENKA 

The  position  of  the  two  armies,  on  the  24th, 
was  as  follows.  The  Polish  army  occupied  the 
same  ground  as  when  they  ceased  firing  on  the 
20th  ;  but  the  force  was  disposed  in  a  different 
manner.  —  The  right  wing  was  reinforced  by  the 
division  of  general  Szembek  ;  and  although  Bialo- 
lenka, Kawenzyn,  and  Wavre  composed  the  line  of 
combat,  there  was  this  difference,  that,  while  be- 
fore, the  centre  was  at  Kawenzyn,  and  the  left 
wing  at  Bialolenka,  at  present  the  left  wing  was 
at  Kawenzyn;  the  forces  which  were   at  Bialo- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  151 

lenka  were  posted  as  a  detached  corps,  and  the 
centre  of  the  army  was  at  the  forest  of  elders. 
The  right  wing  occupied  the  space  between  the 
great  road  and  the  marshes  of  the  Vistula,  called 
the  marshes  of  Goclaw.  This  arrangement  made 
our  line  more  concentrated.  The  first  division 
under  Krukowiecki,  which  was  at  Bialolenka, 
with  the  division  of  cavalry  under  Uminski,  was 
directed  to  observe  the  great  road  from  Jablonna, 
and  all  the  roads  leading  from  Radzimin  and 
Zombki  to  Warsaw.  Between  Kawenzyn  and . 
Bialolenka  the  debouchment  of  the  enemy  was 
prevented  by  extensive  marshes. 

The  Russian  army  was  upon  the  same  points  as 
on  the  20th.  Their  greatest  force  was  opposed  to 
our  right  wing  at  Wavre. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  the  enemy  at- 
tacked with  impetuosity  the  first  division  at  Bialo- 
lenka. The  corps  of  the  enemy  which  made  this 
attack  was  that  of  the  prince  Sczachowski,  which 
had  recently  joined  the  main  army,  and  for  which 
marshal  Diebitsch  was  supposed  to  have  waited. 
This  corps,  as  was  afterwards  ascertained,  had 
missed  their  road,  and  became  unintentionally  en- 
gaged with  our  forces  on  that  day.  The  orders  of 
that  corps  were  to  traverse  the  forests  between 
Radzimin  and  Zombki,  and  to  join  the  army  with- 
out being  observed  by  our  forces.  It  was  the  false 
direction  which  they  took  that  brought  on  the  en- 
gagement at  Bialolenka. 


152  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

This  battle  consisted,  like  the  former  actions  at 
this  place,  of  an  attempt  by  the  enemy  to  force  the 
passage  of  the  dykes,  which  were  defended  on  our 
side  by  about  eight  battalions,  protected  by  some 
twenty  pieces  of  cannon.  This  small  force  re- 
pulsed the  enemy  in  three  successive  attacks  upon 
the  dykes.  At  about  6,  P.  M.  another  Russian 
corps,  under  general  Pahlen,  came  to  the  succor  of 
Sczachowski,  and  as  the  first  corps  attempted  to 
pass  the  road  leading  from  Radzimin,  the  latter 
attempted  to  force  the  passage  of  the  two  dykes 
leading  from  Zombki,  and  at  both  points  under  the 
cover  of  a  terrible  fire  of  artillery.  If  the  reader 
will  consider  that  our  small  force,  consisting  of 
only  eight  battalions  and  fifteen  squadrons,  stood 
their  ground  against  two  Russian  corps  of  nearly 
40,000  men  and  60  pieces  of  cannon,  the  efforts 
which  were  made  on  that  day  may  be  appreciated. 
Our  plan  of  action  consisted  chiefly  in  allowing  a 
part  of  the  enemy's  forces  to  pass  the  dykes,  and 
then  falling  upon  and  cutting  them  up  by  succes- 
sive charges  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  supported  by 
an  effective  fire  of  artillery.  By  such  efforts  this 
handful  of  brave  men  repulsed  the  attacks  of  the 
enemy  until  night,  when  his  attacks  ceased.  At 
the  approach  of  night,  general  Krukowiecki  sent 
small  reconnoitering  parties  upon  the  roads  from 
Radzimin  and  Zombki.  These  patrols,  pushing  as 
far  as,  and  even  beyond  Zombki,  saw  nothing  of 
the  enemy,  and  in  fact  learnt,  to  their  astonish- 
ment, from  the  marauders  whom  they  took,  that 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION  153 

the  two  Russian  corps  had  quitted  their  position, 
and  were  on  their  march  across  the  forest  of  Ka- 
wenzyn,  to  join  the  main  army.  This  sudden 
withdrawal  of  the  enemy's  corps  was  an  indica- 
tion that  they  had  received  orders  to  join  the  grand 
army,  and  that  a  general  attack  was  in  contem- 
plation for  the  next  day.  In  expectation  of  this 
attack,  a  body  of  men  was  sent,  during  the  night, 
to  obstruct,  by  defences,  the  three  roads  leading 
from  Radzimin  and  Zombki.  Small  detachments 
were  left  on  those  roads,  and  the  forces  which 
were  at  Bialolenka  quitted  their  position,  to  rein- 
force the  larger  corps  upon  the  plain  of  Wavre. 

The  following  was  the  position  of  the  two  ar- 
mies on  the  25th,  the  day  of  the  memorable  battle 
of  Grochow.  [See  Plans  XI  and  XII].  The 
Russian  army  was  distributed  into  eight  divisions  of 
combatants,  and  three  divisions  of  reserves.  Those 
eight  divisions  consisted  of  126,000  infantry  (a), 
42,000  cavalry  (6),  and  280  pieces  of  cannon  (c). 
The  three  divisions  of  reserve  (E)  were  composed 
of  16,000  infantry,  4,000  cavalry,  and  32  pieces 
of  cannon.  This  enormous  force,  which  occupied 
the  space  between  Kawenzyn  (A)  and  the  marshes 
Goclaw  (B),  a  distance  of  about  three  English 
miles,  was  arranged  in  two  lines  of  combatants 
(C,D)  and  a  third  of  reserve.  Their  position  was 
as  follows :  Their  left  wing  was  between  Wavre 
(r)  and  the  above  marshes  of  the  Vistula,  and  was 
composed  of  four  divisions  of  infantry,  of  47,000 
men,   four  divisions  of  cavalry,  15,700,  and   120 


154  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

pieces  of  cannon.  Tbe  centre,  opposite  the  forest 
of  elders,  consisted  also  of  four  divisions  of  infantry 
of  57,000  men,  three  of  cavalry  of  10,500  men,  and 
108  pieces  of  cannon.  The  right  wing,  opposite 
the  village  of  Kawenzyn  consisted  of  three  and  a 
half  divisions  of  infantry  of  31,000  men,  four  di- 
visions of  cavalry  of  15,750  men,  and  52  pieces  of 
cannon.  Upon  the  borders  of  the  great  forest 
opposite  the  forest  of  elders,  was  placed  the  re- 
serve, commanded  by  the  Grand  Duke  Constantino. 
Against  this  force  our  inconsiderable  army  was 
posted  in  the  following  manner.  The  right  wing 
(G),  formed  by  the  division  of  Szembek,  consist- 
ing of  about  7,000  infantry  (d)  and  24  pieces  of 
cannon  (/*),  occupied  the  space  between  the  road 
and  the  marshes  above  mentioned.  The  centre 
(H)  occupied  the  forest  of  elders,  and  touched 
upon  the  great  road.  It  was  composed  of  two 
divisions  commanded  by  Skrzynecki  and  Zimirski, 
composed  of  about  15,000  infantry  (d)  and  60 
pieces  of  cannon  (/).  The  left  wing  (T)  occu- 
pied Kawenzyn,  consisting  of  tho  first  division, 
commanded  by  Krakowiecki,  composed  of  6,500 
men  {d)  and  12  pieces  of  cannon  (f).  Four  di- 
visions of  cavalry  (g),  consisting  of  9,500  men, 
commanded  by  Uminski,Lubinski,  Skarzynski,  and 
Jankowski,  were  not  posted  on  any  fixed  point,  but 
stood  in  readiness  to  act  wherever  occasions  might 
offer.  Besides  these,  was  a  small  reserve  (K)  of 
four  battalions  and  eight  squadrons,  in  all  about 
5,400  men,  under  the  command  of  general  Pac. 


p    .  \    M 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  155 

BATTLE  OF  GROCHOW. 

On  the  25th,  at  break  of  day,  the  fire  com- 
menced on  our  left  wing,  on  the  position  of  Kaw- 
enzyn.  The  enemy  pushed  forward  all  the  forces 
which  were  collected  on  his  right  wing,  and  com- 
menced a  terrible  fire  of  artillery  and  musquetry, 
with  the  apparent  determination  to  carry  our  wing 
by  a  single  overpowering  effort.  Nearly  fifty 
pieces  of  artillery  opened  their  fire  upon  Kawenzyn, 
and  numerous  columns  of  infantry,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  this  fire,  pressed  forward  to  carry  the 
position.  But  our  forces  prepared  to  meet  the 
attack.  Small  as  they  were,  consisting  only  of 
seven  battalions  with  twelve  pieces  of  cannon,  they 
had  formed  the  determination  to  die  or  conquer 
upon  that  ground.  They  could  hope  for  no  succor, 
for  the  whole  line  was  in  expectation  of  a  general 
attack. 

The  brave  generals  Krukowiecki  and  Malachow- 
ski  made  every  effort  to  sustain  the  perseverance 
of  their  troops,  and  each  of  them,  at  the  head  of 
their  columns  and  on  foot,  threw  themselves  upon 
the  enemy's  ranks.  Our  artillery  did  not  answer 
that  of  the  Russians,  but  directed  its  fire  of  grape 
wholly  upon  the  columns  which  were  approaching. 
By  the  unparalleled  bravery  of  our  wing,  of  which 
every  soldier  seemed  to  have  formed  the  resolution 
to  fall  rather  than  yield  a  foot  of  ground,  this  tre- 
mendous attack  of  the  enemy  was  sustained  for 
several  hours,  till  at  last  he  was  obliged  to  slack- 
en it. 


156  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

During  the  whole  of  this  attack  upon  our  left 
wing,  the  centre  and  the  right  remained  still  in 
their  positions,  awaiting  the  expected  attack.  It 
was  near  ten  o'clock  when  the  fields  of  Wavre 
became,  as  it  were,  in  one  moment,  covered  with 
the  forces  of  the  enemy,  which  issued  out  of  the 
cover  of  the  forests  overhanging  the  plain.  Look- 
ing over  that  plain,  between  the  forest  of  elders 
and  the  Vistula,  one  would  have  thought  it  was  an 
undivided  mass  of  troops  which  was  in  motion ; 
for  in  that  comparatively  limited  space,  the  eye 
could  not  distinguish  the  different  divisions  from 
each  other. 

Two  hundred  pieces  of  cannon,  posted  upon 
that  plain,  in  a  single  line,  commenced  a  fire  which 
made  the  earth  tremble,  and  which  was  more  ter- 
rible than  the  oldest  officers  had  ever  witnessed. 
After  having  prolonged  for  some  time  this  tremen- 
dous fire  of  artillery,  the  enemy  made  an  attempt 
to  carry  our  right  wing  ;  but  in  a  moment  all  our 
cavalry  were  collected  there,  and  fell  upon  and 
overthrew  his  columns,  and  his  efforts  were  as 
fruitless  here,  as  they  had  been  against  our  left. 

Having  been  unsuccessful  in  these  two  attacks  on 
the  wings,  and  hoping  that  he  had  weakened  our  line 
by  the  terrible  fire  of  artillery,  which  he  constantly 
kept  up,  the  Russian  commander  collected  the 
greater  part  of  his  forces  opposite  the  forest  of 
elders,  and  it  was  there  that  an  attack  was  com- 
menced which  presented  a  scene  unheard  of  in  the 
annals  of  war.     It  could  with  more  propriety  be 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  157 

called  a  massacre  of  nearly  four  hours  duration. 
The  Russians  brought  together  at  this  point  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  posted  in 
the  rear  and  on  the  sides  of  that  forest.  Some 
fifty  battalions  were  incessantly  pushed  to  the 
attack,  with  the  view  to  get  possession  of  tha^ 
forest.  Had  they  been  able  to  effect  this,  they 
would  have  divided  our  army  into  two  parts,  and 
thus  could  not  but  have  ensured  its  destruction. 
It  was  the  consideration  of  this  important  fact 
which  prompted  the  horrible  attack,  and  the 
desperate  resistance  which  it  met.  The  brave 
Skrzynecki,  Zimirski,  Boguslawski,  Czyzewski, 
and  Rohland,  defended  this  forest  with  fourteen 
battalions,  whose  admirably  executed  manoeuvres, 
the  change  of  front,  the  arrangement  of  the  attack 
in  columns  and  escalon,  the  concentration  of  force 
upon  the  points  in  which  the  enemy's  line  seemed 
to  waver,  a  fire  which  was  never  lost,  but  was 
always  reserved  for  the  closest  approach  of  the 
enemy  —  all  were  executed  with  an  activity,  order 
and  coolness  never  surpassed.  It  was  only  by  such 
conduct  that  the  tremendous  attack  of  the  enemy 
could  have  been  sustained  for  four  hours,  and  that, 
after  having  nine  times  gained  possession  of  the 
forest,  he  was  as  often  repulsed  with  an  immense 
loss. 

Like  the  infantry,  our  artillery  performed  pro- 
digies.     All   the   batteries,    protected  by  cavalry 
which  never  abandoned  them,  pushed  themselves  in 
advance  even  of  the  line  of  the  skirmishers,  and  ap- 
20 


168  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

proached  sometimes  within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  en- 
emy's columns,  in  order  to  give  their  fire  vs^ith  the 
most  infallible  execution.  The  battery  of  the  brave 
colonel  Pientka,  w^hich  defended  the  border  of  the 
forest,  was  so  far  advanced  that  it  was  sometimes 
surrounded  by  the  enemy,  who,  in  his  own  disor- 
der, did  not  become  aware  of  the  advantage.  All 
the  different  operations  indeed,  of  our  artillery  in 
this  battle  were  truly  admirable.  Batteries,  now 
concentrated  upon  one  point,  were  in  a  moment 
hurried  to  another  and  distant  one,  where  the  ene- 
my was  wholly  unprepared  for  them,  and  was 
thrown  into  disorder  by  their  sudden  attack.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  afternoon,  when  the  enemy, 
after  having  been  several  times  repulsed,  renewed 
his  attack  with  the  greatest  determination,  and  our 
2d  division  began  to  give  way,  the  four  batteries 
of  artillery  of  the  brave  Adamski,  Maslowski,  Hil- 
derbrand,  and  Bielak,  in  concert  with  that  of  col- 
onel Pientka,  advanced  like  cavalry  to  the  charge, 
and,  approaching  close  to  the  Russian  columns, 
opened  a  fire  of  grape,  which  spread  destruction 
and  disorder  in  their  ranks.  Our  infantry,  thus 
animated  to  the  contest,  rallied,  and  threw  them- 
selves again  upon  the  enemy,  who  then  yielded 
before  them. 

Like  the  artillery  and  infantry,  our  cavalry,  be- 
sides the  different  charges  which  they  executed 
with  so  much  bravery,  was  manoeuvred  with  the 
utmost  skill  by  our  generals,  and  was  made  to  fill 
the  voids  occasioned  by  the  inferiority  of  our  forces, 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  159 

SO  as  always  to  present  to  the  enemy  an  unbroken 
line. 

By  such  manoeuvres  of  the  three  arms,  executed 
with  the  greatest  determination,  in  which  every 
commander  performed  his  duty  to  the  utmost,  the 
enemy's  plans  were  continually  disorganized,  and 
his  enormous  force,  which  at  first  sight  would  have 
been  supposed  capable  to  have  absolutely  crushed 
the  small  army  opposed  to  it,  was  in  effect  only  a 
great  mass,  making  a  continual  oscillation,  and 
which  seemed  to  trust  to  do  every  thing  by  a  ter- 
rible fire  of  artillery,  which  was  always  kept  up, 
whether  necessary  or  not. 

Thus  it  was  that  fifty  battalions  of  the  enemy, 
amounting  to  over  40,000  men,  supported  by  120 
pieces  of  artillery,  in  a  concentrated  attack  upon 
one  point,  the  forest  of  elders,  the  decisive  point 
of  the  position,  w^ere  nine  times  repulsed  from 
that  forest,  which  was  left  literally  covered  with 
their  dead. 

From  eleven  o'clock  until  three,  these  attacks 
continued  through  the  whole  line,  (the  most  power- 
ful being  in  the  centre),  and  the  destruction  of  life 
was  immense.  At  the  last  named  hour,  our  gen- 
erals, each  of  whom  we  may  remark  had  had  their 
horses  shot  under  them,  and  several  of  whom  were 
severely  wounded,  formed  the  plan  of  giving  the 
enemy  a  decisive  blow.  Their  plan  was  to  with- 
draw from  the  fire  the  2d  and  3d  divisions,  which 
had  suffered  most,  and  to  make  a  general  retro- 
grade movement  in  such  a  form  as  to  have  the 


160  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

wings  considerably  in  advance  of  the  centre,  which 
was  to  be  drawn  back  as  far  as  the  Obelisk  of  Iron 
(k),  at  which  there  was  a  position  more  command- 
ing. This  plan  had  the  following  objects  :  —  The 
first  was,  to  draw  the  enemy  upon  the  open  plain  ; 
the  second  was,  to  concentrate  our  force  still  more, 
and  to  place  it  in  two  lines,  the  inner  one  to  be 
composed  of  the  whole  of  the  2d  and  a  part  of  the 
3d  division,  which  were  withdrawn  for  repose.  A 
third  object  was,  to  lead  the  enemy  to  believe 
that  a  retrograde  movement  was  forced  upon  us  by 
our  losses,  and  that  we  felt  ourselves  too  weak  to 
continue  the  defence  of  the  forest. 

To  execute  this  manoeuvre,  and  to  enable  the 
2d  division  to  retire  without  being  molested,  the 
artillery  was  left  with  some  twenty  squadrons  of 
cavalry  to  protect  the  retrograde  movement.  This 
artillery  and  cavalry  were  ordered  afterwards  to 
evacuate  their  positions  gradually,  and  the  former 
to  take  post  in  the  centre  under  the  protection  of 
the  whole  of  the  cavalry,  which  were  in  escalon, 
and  prepared  for  a  general  attack.  The  manoeuvre 
was  as  admirably  executed  as  it  was  conceived. 
The  enemy  had  no  suspicion  of  its  object,  but, 
presuming  it  to  be  a  flight,  undertook  to  profit  by 
it.  It  was  at  this  moment  that  marshal  Diebitsch, 
as  if  sure  of  victory,  saw  himself  already  at  War- 
saw, and,  on  the  field  of  battle,  he  allowed  these 
words  to  escape  him  :  '  Well,  then,  it  appears  that 
after  this  bloody  day,  I  shall  take  tea  in  the  Belvi- 
dere  palace.' 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  161 

It  was  about  three  P.  M.  that  our  2nd  division, 
in  couformity  with  the  plan  adopted,  began  to 
retire  by  an  escak^n  movement.  To  hasten  the 
execution  of  this  movement,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  columns,  retiring  in  succession,  on  reaching  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  enemy,  should 
quicken  their  pace  as  they  proceeded,  in  order  to 
form  the  second  line  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  give 
space  for  the  operations  of  the  artillery  and  caval- 
ry. It  was  at  this  moment  that  general  Zimirski, 
who  had  lost  several  horses  under  him,  and  had 
just  placed  himself  upon  a  fresh  horse,  to  superin- 
tend this  movement,  was  struck  with  a  twelve 
pound  ball  in  the  left  shoulder,  which  carried  away 
his  aim,  and  caused  his  death  in  a  few  hours. 
The  melancholy  loss  of  this  general  was  most 
deeply  felt  by  the  whole  army,  and  particularly  by 
his  own  division,  but  it  did  not  interfere  with  the 
execution  of  these  orders.  The  brave  general 
Czyzewski  immediately  took  command  of  the 
division,  and  continued  the  orderly  movement  of 
the  division  towards  the  rear,  and  he  received 
great  support  from  generals  Rohland  and  Zaluski. 
As  soon  as  the  last  columns  of  this  force  quitted 
the  forest,  \_See  Plan  XII]  the  Russian  troops 
began  to  debouch  from  it,  and  our  artillery  com- 
menced a  terrible  fire.  The  brave  colonel  Pient- 
ka,  who  was  still  far  in  advance,  checked  the 
debouchement  from  the  forest  near  him.  Seated 
with  the  most  perfect  sangfroid  upon  a  disabled 
piece  of  artillery,  this  brave  officer  directed  an  un- 


162  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

remitting  fire  from  his  battery.  The  artillery  and 
cavalry,  after  having  protected  the  retrograde 
movement  of  the  centre,  still  continued  to  keep 
their  ground,  to  enable  the  wrings  also  to  retire 
undisturbed.  All  our  forces  were  then  in  move- 
ment, and  the  enemy  pressed  on.  The  Russian 
columns  had  already  advanced  beyond  the  position 
of  colonel  Pientka,  but  that  brave  officer  still  kept 
up  the  defence.*  By  this  time,  however,  the  2nd 
division  had  already  reached  their  destined  posi- 
tion, and  their  battalions  had  commenced  forming. 
Such  was  the  state  of  things,  when,  between 
Kawenzyn  and  the  forest,  a  cloud  of  Russian  cav- 
alry was  seen  advancing  to  the  attack,  having 
at  their  head  five  regiments  of  heavy  cuirassiers ; 
a  force  in  fact  of  some  forty  squadrons,  or  between 

*  Admirable  as  was  the  conduct  of  all  our  artillery,  every 
man  in  which  deserved  a  decoration,  yet  among  this  artillery, 
the  battery  of  colonel  Pientka  must  be  distinguished.  With- 
out yielding  a  step  of  ground,  that  battery  held  its  place  for 
five  hours,  and  it  often  happened  during  the  battle,  that  this 
single  battery  was  left  exposed  alone  to  the  fire  of  thirty  or 
forty  of  the  enemy's  pieces.  It  was  computed  that  this  bat- 
tery alone  caused  a  greater  loss  to  the  enemy  than  the  entire 
loss  that  his  whole  artillery  caused  in  our  ranks  ;  and  I  do 
not  exaggerate  in  saying,  that  the  fire,  chiefly  of  grape,  which 
Pientka  kept  up  for  five  hours,  and  at  the  distance  often  of  a 
few  hundred  paces  only,  must  have  cost  the  Russians  from  one 
to  two  thousand  men.  What  is  most  remarkable,  this  bat- 
tery itself,  during  the  whole  of  the  fire,  did  not  lose  more 
than  one  officer  and  six  men  killed,  six  wounded,  and  ten 
or  twelve  horses,  two  of  which  were  killed  under  colonel 
Pientka,  whose  clothes  were  pierced  through  and  through 
with  grape,  and  his  casque  torn  in  pieces,  while,  as  if  provi- 
dentially preserved,  his  person  was  not  in  the  slightest  degree 
injured. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  163 

eight  and  nine  thousand  in  all.  Colonel  Pientka, 
with  his  artillery,  supported  only  by  a  single  regi- 
ment of  Mazurs,  still  held  his  post,  to  give  yet 
another  effective  fire  upon  this  advancing  cavalry, 
which  was  already  between  him  and  Skrzynecki's 
division ;  and  then,  to  save  himself  from  being  cut 
off,  he  quitted  at  full  gallop  a  post  which  he  had 
occupied  for  five  hours  under  the  terrible  fire  of 
the  artillery  of  the  enemy.  This  rapid  movement 
of  Pientka's  battery  and  the  regiment  of  cavalry 
which  attended  him,  animated  the  Russian  cuiras- 
siers in  their  advance,  and  the  infantry  and  artil- 
lery of  the  enemy  followed  their  cavalry.  At  this 
moment  Chlopicki  was  wounded  by  a  grenade, 
and  the  army  was  without  a  head  ;  but  generals 
Skrzynecki  and  Czyzewski  had  already  formed 
their  divisions  into  squares,  and  awaited  the  attack 
of  the  enemy. 

The  Russian  cavalry  advanced  upon  the  trot, 
and  came  in  a  direction  perpendicular  to  the  line 
of  our  battery  of  rockets,  which  was  posted  be- 
tween the  2d  and  3d  divisions  (A).  Suddenly  a 
discharge  from  this  battery  was  poured  into  their 
ranks,  and  enveloped  them  with  flame  and  noise. 
Their  horses,  galled  to  madness  by  the  flakes  of 
fire  which  were  showered  over  them,  became 
wholly  ungovernable,  and,  breaking  away  from  all 
control,  spread  disorder  in  every  direction.  The 
enemy's  ranks  were  soon  in  the  most  utter  confu- 
sion, and  in  a  short  time  this  enormous  body  of 
cavalry   became   one   disordered   mass,  sweeping 


164  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

along  towards  the  fire  of  our  squares.  In  a  very 
few  minutes  that  cavalry  was  almost  annihilated. 
So  nearly  complete,  in  fact,  was  their  destruction, 
that  of  a  regiment  of  cuirassiers,  which  was  at  the 
head  of  the  attacking  force,  called  the  regiment  of 
Albert,  and  which  also  bore  the  designation  of  the 
'  Invincible'  inscribed  upon  their  helmets,  not  a 
man  escaped.  The  few  who  were  not  left  dead 
upon  the  field  were  taken  prisoners.  In  fact, 
some  hundred  horse  of  that  regiment  were  whirled 
along  through  the  intervals  of  our  squares,  and 
were  left  to  be  taken  prisoners  at  leisure.  The 
wrecks  of  this  routed  cavalry,  closely  pursued  by 
our  lancers,  carried  along  in  their  flight  the  columns 
of  infantry  which  were  following  them,  and  a  gen- 
eral retreat  of  all  the  enemj's  forces  commenced. 
The  battle  was  gained.  The  cry  of  '  Poland 
forever !'  arose  along  our  line,  and  reached  the 
walls  of  Warsaw,  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  its  anxious 
inhabitants.  Nothing  was  wanting  but  a  skilful 
commander  in  chief  to  our  forces,  to  have  insured 
the  entire  destruction  of  the  Russian  army. 

Two  thousand  prisoners,  am_ong  them  twenty 
officers  of  different  grades,  five  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  upwards  of  a  thousand  horses,  were  the  tro- 
phies of  that  immortal  day,  the  memory  of  which 
will  be  forever  terrible  to  tyrants. 

It  was  nearly  five  P.  M.  when  the  Russian  army 
commenced  a  general  flight,  and  even  evacuated 
its  first  position,  which  it  had  occupied  in  the  early 
morning.     It  is  to*  be  regretted  that  the  order  to 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  166 

follow  up  the  pursuit  was  wanting.  Szembek 
alone  threw  himself,  at  times,  -with  his  division, 
among  the  Russian  ranks,  and  took  a  great  num- 
ber prisoners,  baggage  and  chests  of  ammunition. 
According  to  the  declaration  of  general  Szembek, 
if,  during  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  a  charge  of 
cavalry  and  artillery  had  been  ordered  between  the 
left  wing  and  the  centre  of  the  enemy,  a  great 
part  (P )  of  that  wing,  which  was  considerably  de- 
tached from  the  centre,  would  have  been  cut  off. 
This  could  have  been  easily  done,  for  no  part  of 
our  little  reserve  was  brought  into  action  during 
the  day,  and  they  were  eager  to  be  permitted  to 
make  the  charge. 

The  prince  Radzivil,  after  the  withdrawal  of 
general  Chlopicki  from  the  army  in  consequence 
of  his  wound,  found  himself  without  council ;  and 
not  feeling  himself  sufficiently  capable  to  risk  any 
bold  manoeuvre  ;  seeing  too  that  the  army  was 
much  exhausted  by.  the  fighting  of  that  day  and 
the  preceding  ;  and  fearing  also  that  the  Vistula 
might  become  impassable,  and  the  bridges  be  en- 
dangered by  the  melting  of  the  ice  ;  in  fine,  being 
unwilling  to  take  upon  himself  the  great  responsi- 
bility of  attempting  to  pursue  his  advantages,  de- 
cided to  give  the  army  an  interval  of  repose,  and  to 
occupy  the  time  in  reorganizing  it. 

Some   farther    details,  and  remarks  upon   this 
important  battle  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the 
reader.     1st.  In  regard  to  position  :  On  examin- 
ing critically  the  position  of  the  Polish  army,  we 
21 


166  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

notice  some  great  faults.  The  right  wing  was 
upon  a  plain  entirely  uncovered,  and  exposed  to 
the  commanding  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery.  All 
the  talents  of  the  brave  Szembek  were  required  to 
prevent  this  wing  from  being  unprofitably  sacri- 
ficed. This  same  wing,  if  it  had  been  withdrawn 
a  thousand  paces  farther  to  the  rear,  in  such  a 
manner  as  not  to  have  leant  on  the  marshes  of  the 
Vistula,  but  have  occupied  the  small  wooded  hills 
on  the  right  of  the  main  road,  and  on  a  line  with 
the  village  of  Grochow,  would  have  been  then  in  a 
commanding  position,  and  safe  from  the  tremen- 
dous fire  of  the  enemy.  The  enemy  would  proba- 
bly have  then  occupied  the  plain,  and  thus  been 
disadvantageously  exposed  to  our  fire.  His  loss 
would  have  been  doubled,  and  all  the  charges  of 
our  cavalry  and  infantry  would  have  been  much 
more  effective.  But  what  was  above  all  unpar- 
donable, was  that,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
enemy's  intention  to  attack  us,  together  with  a 
consciousness  of  our  own  inferiority  of  force,  and 
the  nature  of  our  position,  which  was  wanting  in 
strength,  no  fortifications  whatever  were  erected, 
although  four  days  and  five  nights  were  passed  in 
that  position,  during  which  the  national  guard  of 
Warsaw,  and  all  the  unenrolled  population,  who 
would  have  cheerfully  volunteered  for  the  purpose, 
could  have  been  employed  in  the  construction  of 
works  to  any  desired  extent. 

In  regard  to  the  centre,  we  may  remark,  that  it 
was  indeed  covered    by  the    forest  of  elders,  of 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  167 

which  it  occupied  a  part,  but  the  attack  of  this 
forest  by  the  enemy  was  thus  made  necessary,  and 
their  repulse  cost  us  too  great  sacrifices.  But  be- 
sides the  sacrifices  which  the  support  of  such  a 
position  required,  our  troops  were  so  incessantly 
occupied  with  repulse  of  the  successive  attacks  of 
the  enemy,  that  it  was  impossible  to  attempt  any 
decisive  manceuvre.  It  was  not  there,  in  fact,  as 
we  have  seen,  that  the  battle  was  decided,  but  at 
the  Obelisk  of  Iron,  and  by  other  means.  The 
centre,  like  the  right  wing,  should  have  been  with- 
drawn so  far  as  to  have  been  on  a  line  with  the 
village  of  Grochow,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
profit  by  all  the  commanding  positions  between 
Targowek  and  Grochow,  upon  which  our  artillery 
(which,  as  the  case  was,  were  upon  a  low  and 
exposed  position  opposite  the  forest),  would  have 
been  very  advantageously  posted.  In  general,  our 
whole  position  was  too  extended,  reaching  from 
Kawenzyn  to  the  marshes  of  the  Vistula  at  Go- 
claw.  It  ought  to  have  been  from  the  beginning 
more  concentrated,  and  supported  on  the  outermost 
circumvallations  of  Praga  (B).  It  could  thus  have 
profited  by  the  advantageous  positions  which  adjoin 
those  defences.  In  consequence  of  this  too  great 
extent  of  position,  our  forces  remained  in  a  single 
line  for  five  hours  in  succession,  in  most  dangerous 
exposure. 

In  regard  to  the  evolutions,  although  the  details 
were  admirably  executed,  it  is  to  be  nemarked  that 
the  left  wing  did  not  yield  a  sufficient  support  to 


168  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

the  other  bodies.  The  communications  with  that 
wing  were  not  well  sustained  —  another  eifect  of 
the  too  great  extent  of  the  position.  The  line  of 
the  enemy  was  encumbered  with  artillery,  and 
there  were  favorable  moments  for  a  general  attack 
on  that  artillery  by  our  cavalry.  Such  opportuni- 
ties were  perceived  by  our  generals  of  cavalry,  and 
the  attack  suggested  by  them  to  the  commander  in 
chief,  but  nothing  was  done.  The  greatest  fault 
of  all,  however,  and  that  which  perhaps  saved  the 
Russian  army  from  entire  destruction,  was  the 
neglect  to  follow  up  the  enemy  in  his  retreat,  and 
by  a  judicious  manoeuvre  to  cut  off  his  right  wing, 
as  was  perfectly  practicable ;  —  by  such  a  manoeu- 
vre, as  it  will  be  seen  was,  in  fact,  afterwards  suc- 
cessfully practised  by  Skrzynecki  at  Wavre,  where 
a  great  part  of  that  same  force  were  taken  pris- 
oners. 

The  battle  of  Grochow  cost  the  enemy  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  according  to  the  reports 
published  by  the  Russians  themselves,  20,000 
men.  On  our  side  the  loss  amounted  to  5,000. 
But  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  terrible  fire 
of  that  day,  it  may  be  remarked  that  there  was  not 
a  single  general  or  staff  officer,  who  had  not  his 
horse  killed  or  wounded  under  him.  Full  two 
thirds  of  the  officers,  and  perhaps  the  same  pro- 
portion of  the  soldiers,  had  their  clothes  pierced 
with  balls,  and  more  than  a  tenth  part  of  the  army 
were  slightly  wounded,  though  not  unfitted  for 
service.     In  this  battle  the  2d  and  3d  divisions  of 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  169 

infantry  suffered  the  most,  and  twenty  of  their 
officers  were  mortally  wounded  with  grape-shot. 
I  would  not  desire  to  present  a  revolting  picture  of 
the  horrors  of  a  battle-field,  yet  to  impress  upon 
the  reader  how  great  a  scourge  tyranny  is  to  man- 
kind, I  could  wish  to  point  out  to  him,  along  the 
whole  road  from  Kawenzyn  to  the  marshes  of  Go- 
claw,  hillocks  of  dead  at  every  step,  especially  in 
the  forest  of  elders,  where  rank  upon  rank  was 
seen  prostrate  upon  the  earth.  Indeed,  so  strewed 
with  bodies  was  this  forest  that  it  received  from 
that  day  the  name  of  the  forest  of  the  dead,^ 
With  the  twilight,    our   whole   army  began  to 

*  Up  to  the  lOth  of  March,  when  a  reconnoisance  was 
made,  as  far  as  the  plain  of  Wavre,  the  dead  were  not  yet  in- 
terred, and  all  the  confusion  of  a  battle-field  remained,  proving 
that  the  enemy  was  too  much  occupied  to  give  the  ordinary 
attention  to  these  duties.  On  that  day  several  wagons  filled 
with  Russian  cuirassiers  were  sent  to  Warsaw.  Many  ruined 
caissons  of  ammunition,  many  gun-carriages,  three  deserted 
cannons,  and  several  hundred  carbines,  sabres,  and  pistols, 
knapsacks,  and  helmets  in  considerable  numbers  were  strew- 
ed over  the  field,  and  indicated  the  disorder  in  which  the  ene- 
my had  made  his  retreat.  To  prevent  an  epidemical  malady, 
our  government  made  a  request  to  general  Diebitsch  to  send 
a  body  of  his  men  to  aid  in  the  interment  of  the  dead,  which 
was  in  fact  done. 

Contemplating  these  masses  of  Russian  dead,  tiie  victims 
of  a  horrible  despotism,  what  reflections  were  awakened! 
Those  unfortunate  men  were  dragged  to  the  combat  to  be 
sacrificed.  Not  one  of  that  mass  of  victims  could  see  the  jus- 
tice of  the  cause  for  which  they  were  thus  sacrificed.  What 
consolation  could  there  be  in  the  last  agonies  of  suffering 
incurred  in  such  a  cause  1  There  could  be  none.  How  dif- 
ferent must  have  been  the  death  of  the  Polish  soldier,  who 
felt  the  sacredness  and  importance  of  the  struggle  on  which 
he  had  entered.  His  last  moments  were  consoled  with  the 
thought  that  his  life  was  sacrificed  for  the  good  of  his  coun- 
try.    If  the  deaths  of  the  Russian  and  the  Polish  soldier 


170  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

evacuate  their  position,  and  to  cross  the  Vistula  to 
Warsaw.  The  passage  of  the  river  occupied  the 
whole  night.     On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  all 

were  thus  different,  their  lives  are  not  less  so.  What  reward 
awaits  the  Russian  soldier  ?  Is  it  a  service  of  twenty-five 
years  under  the  terror  of  the  knout,  in  which  service  he  most 
generally  dies,  or  if  he  survives,  is  too  much  broken  down  to 
be  able  to  gain  a  subsistence  afterwards  ?  The  Russian  sol- 
dier, besides  the  fatigues  of  the  general  service,  is  subject  to 
a  private  service  under  any  one  of  his  superiors,  the  merest 
subaltern  perhaps,  who,  far  from  rewarding  him  for  such 
services,  abuses  him  but  the  more  freely.  The  full  pay  of  a 
Russian  soldier  is  a  groat  a  day ;  and  even  out  of  this  little 
pay  his  superiors  exact  a  profit.  The  consequence  is,  that 
the  degree  of  his  misery  is  excessive,  and  he  would  be  in  ex- 
tremity if  the  proprietors  of  land  where  he  is  quartered  did 
not  succor  him.  What  other  recompense  is  given  to  these 
wretched  men,  who  are  thus  led  to  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives 
for  the  self-will  of  a  despot,  who,  while  the  soldier,  covered 
with  wounds,  is  groaning  under  his  sufferings,  spends  his 
time  in  luxurious  enjoyment,  and  perhaps  mocks  at  the  ab- 
jectness  of  men  who. are  thus  willing  instruments  of  his  plea- 
sure ?  What  other  recompense  for  all  this  ?  Perhaps  to 
this  soldier  is  given  a  medal  of  brass,  which,  if  his  com- 
mander in  a  moment  of  good  humor,  as  he  passes  down  the 
line,  may  have  addressed  him  with  the  title  of  *  Staryk'  or 
*  old  soldier,'  he  receives  as  a  token  of  his  having  been  through 
a  campaign.  Compare  this  with  the  recompense  which  await- 
ed the  Polish  soldier  on  his  return  from  the  campaign.  He 
was  received  by  his  countrymen  with  the  warmest  demon- 
strations of  joy.  Mothers  lifted  their  children  in  their  arms, 
and  pointed  him  out  to  them  as  one  of  the  defenders  of  their 
country.  No  anxiety  for  the  future  weighed  upon  him,  for 
his  country  had  made  ample  provision  for  him.  It  was  at 
his  will  to  remain  in  the  service,  or  to  go  to  occupy  the  land 
designated  for  him  by  the  national  government.  He  would 
find  there  all  that  his  wants  might  require.  Remaining  in 
the  military  service,  he  enjoyed  the  respect  of  those  about 
him.  All  were  his  brothers,  and  the  greatest  delicacy  of 
intercourse  was  observed  between  him  and  his  superiors. 
His  service  was  an  agreeable  duty,  in  which,  besides  gain- 
ing an  honorable  subsistence,  he  received  each  day  some 
new  mark  of  friendship  and  esteem. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  171 

that  remained  of  our  forces  upon  the  right  bank, 
were  two  battalions  of  infantry,  and  thirty-six 
pieces  of  cannon,  which  were  at  the  bridge-head 
of  Praga.  The  Russians  were  well  satisfied  with 
our  passage  of  the  Vistula,  for  they  felt  the  need 
of  repose.  It  was  at  firat  presumed  that  in  a  few 
days  the  enemy  would  storm  Praga.  This,  how- 
ever, was  soon  found  not  to  be  their  intention  ; 
and,  for  what  cause  we  cannot  conjecture,  they 
continued  in  a  state  of  complete  inaction. 

Such  then  was  the  end  of  the  grand  operation 
of  marshal  Diebitsch,  with  his  colossal  forces,  by 
which  it  was  his  purpose  to  put  an  end  to  the 
war  in  a  few  days !  The  boasted  Grosser  of  the 
Balkan,  with  from  180,000  to  200,000  men,  and 
316  pieces  of  cannon,  was  not  only  unable  to  crush, 
as  he  proposed  to  do,  an  army  of  scarcely  40,000 
men  and  100  cannon,  but  was  beaten  by  that 
small  army,  and  only  escaped  a  total  ruin  from  the 
absence  of  a  competent  leader  to  the  Polish  forces. 
Such  facts,  so  rare  in  history,  cannot  be  too  fre- 
quently impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader, 
and  they  should  be  held  up  to.  the  view  of  every 
despot,  to  teach  him  upon  what  a  frail  foundation 
his  confidence  in  numbers  may  rest,  and  to  convince 
him  that  his  masses  must  melt  away  and  be  dis- 
persed, before  a  people,  who,  on  their  own  soil, 
are  resolved  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  despotism,  and 
who  fight  for  liberty  with  the  energy  of  despair.* 

*  The  courage  of  our  forces  that  day,  was  no  doubt  much 
animated  by  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw,  for  the  battle  was 


172  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  nation  and  the  army  occupied  this  interval 
of  repose  in  giving  thanks  to  Providence  for  the 

fought  within  view  of  the  inhabitants,  who  covered  the 
fields  about  Praga.  Many  of  the  equipages  of  the  wealthy- 
families  attended  to  receive  the  wounded  from  the  field  of 
battle,  and  all  the  inhabitants,  without  distinction  of  rank, 
pressed  forward  to  remove  arid  succor  them.  Those  of  the 
wounded  who  could  not  be  led  to  the  carriages,  were  car- 
ried in  the  arms  of  the  citizens,  and  among  those  who  per- 
formed this  office  were  the  highest  members  of  the  national 
government,  ministers  of  religion,  and  even  ladies.  How 
then  could  such  an  attachment  of  the  nation  to  her  de- 
fenders, fail  to  be  answered  by  an  enthusiasm  in  her  defence 
which  knew  no  bounds.  The  wounded  soldiers,  in  order 
not  to  draw  upon  this  sympathy,  conquered  their  sufferings, 
and  stifled  their  groans  ;  and  to  check  the  tears  of  those 
who  bore  them,  they  even  forced  themselves  to  raise  the 
patriotic  shout,  and  sing  the  national  hymn. 

To  the  details  illustrating  the  courage  which  was  display- 
ed upon  that  field,  I  may  add  the  following  :  —  In  one  of  the 
attacks  upon  the  forest  of  elders,  when  the  enemy  had  gain- 
ed possession  of  it,  there  was  an  interruption  to  our  advance 
from  a  ditch  which  had  been  cut  across  the  road,  and  which 
it  was  necessary  to  pass.  The  Russian  artillery,  observing 
the  efi'ect  of  this  obstruction,  poured  a  heavy  fire  of  grape 
upon  the  spot  to  add  to  the  confusion.  Lieutenant  Czay- 
kowski,  who  commanded  a  platoon  of  grenadiers  of  the  7th 
regiment,  in  the  attacking  columns,  had  passed  with  his 
platoon  this  small  ditch,  when  he  received  a  grape  shot  in 
the  leg,  which  threw  him  down.  As  he  fell,  he  cried, 
'  Grenadiers,  advance  !'  and  continued  this  cry,  regardless 
of  his  suffering,  as  he  lay  prostrate  on  the  ground.  Those 
brave  grenadiers,  animated  by  this  noble  spirit,  pushed  their 
attack  with  such  fury  that  they  drove  the  enemy  from  his 
position. 

Our  artillery,  which  had  so  bravely  fought,  and  which 
had  to  answer  the  terrible  fire  of  the  numerous  artillery  of 
the  enemy,  as  well  as  to  check  the  strong  attacks  of  the 
Russian  columns,  were  obliged  often  to  change  their  place, 
to  concentrate,  and  disperse,  as  occasion  required.  It  was 
in  one  of  those  evolutions,  that  a  battery,  posted  near  that 
commanded  by  captain  Hilderbrand,  was  required  to  change 
its  position.  The  bombardier  Kozieradzki  was  sent  to 
give  orders  to  this  efi'ect.     He  was  on  his  way  to  execute 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  173 

successes  of  the  preceding  day.  In  all  the  churches 
Te  Deums  were  sung,  as  well  as  in  the  chapels 
of  the  camp  near  Warsaw.  The  army  was  re- 
ceived by  the  people  with  solemnities.  The  sen- 
ate, accompanied  by  the  inhabitants,  repaired  to 
the  camp,  where  patriotic  addresses  were  delivered, 
and  a  public  fete  given  to  the  army.  For  three 
successive  nights,  Warsaw  was  illuminated,  and 
the  inscription  '  To  the  defenders  of  their  Coun- 
try,' was  every  where  seen.  Unequal  to  the  de- 
scription of  these  moments  of  exultation  of  a  peo- 
ple animated  with  the  recovery  of  their  freedom, 
I  can  only  say  that  they  were  moments  which  will 
live  forever  in  the  heart  of  every  Pole,  and  will 


this  commission,  when  a  ball  carried  away  his  arm.  That 
brave  man,  however,  continued  his  way,  thus  severely 
wounded,  reached  the  battery,  executed  his  commission,  and 
then  fell  from  the  loss  of  blood. 

"  The  following  incidents  of  Jiis  battle-field  deserve  to  be 
mentioned,  as  indicating  how  little  of  national  animosity 
mingled  with  the  feelings  of  the  combatants.  It  was  often 
seen  that  the  wounded  soldiers  of  the  hostile  forces  who 
happened  to  be  thrown  in  each  other's  vicinity,  would  drag 
themselves  towards  each  other  for  mutual  relief,  and  engage 
in  friendly  conversation.  '  Why,'  would  a  Polish  soldier 
say  to  the  Russian,  '  why  are  we  shedding  each  other's  blood  1 
The  cause  for  which  we  have  taken  arms  is  that  of  your 
happiness,  as  well  as  our  own.'  The  Russian  soldier  could 
only  answer,  with  tears  of  shame,  '  We  have  been  driven 
to  march  against  you.'  No  stronger  example  could  be  giv- 
en, of  the  kindest  dispositions  of  the  Poles  towards  the 
Russians,  than  the  treatment  of  the  latter  in  our  hospitals. 
They  were  nursed  and  fed,  like  our  own  wounded,  by  the 
hands  of  those  benevolent  and  patriotic  females  who  had  de- 
voted themselves  to  these  holy  duties.  On  leaving  those 
hospitals,  the  Russian  soldiers  swore  never  to  forget  the 
kindness  they  had  experienced. 

22 


174  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

satisfy  him  that  a  nation  so  united  will  be  always 
capable  of  great  efforts. 

On  the  day  after  the  religious  ceremonies,  the 
provisional  government  met  in  the  National  (for- 
merly the  Royal)  Palace,  where  all  the  general 
officers  of  the  army  were  also  assembled  to  delib- 
erate upon  the  measures  to  be  adopted  both  in 
regard  to  military  and  civil  affairs.  It  was  on  that 
occasion  that  the  prince  Michael  Radziwil,  actu- 
ated by  the  noblest  impulses,  and  having  a  single 
view  to  the  good  of  his  country,  abdicated  the 
chief  command,  surrendering  his  trust  into  the 
hands  of  the  national  government,  with  the  avowal 
that  he  did  not  feel  himself  sufficiently  capable  to 
continue  to  hold  so  responsible  a  post.  This  step, 
which  showed  a  great  elevation  of  character,  im- 
pressed the  nation  with  feelings  of  gratitude,  and 
has  given  to  prince  Radziwil  a  name  in  history. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Passage  of  the  Vistula  to  Warsaw. — Disposition  of  the  Polish  forces  on 
its  left  bank — Appointment  of  general  John  Skrzjnecki  to  the  chief 
command. — Proclamation. — Prompt  attention  is  given  to  the  reorgan- 
ization of  the  army,  the  arsenals  and  manufactories  of  arms,  the  forti- 
fications, &c. — Deportment  of  the  commander  in  chief  towards  the 
army. — General  enthusiasm  of  the  nation. — The  patriotic  offers  of  the 
Polish  women. — New  regulations  established  for  conferring  orders  of 
merit. — Disorderly  state  of  the  Russian  army. — Attempt  of  Diebitsch 
to  bribe  the  Polish  soldiery  — General  view  of  the  encouraging  cir- 
cumstances of  this  epoch. — The  insurrection  in  Russia  under  Yermo- 
low. — View  of  the  state  of  the  Polish  forces  when  general  Skrzynecki 
took  the  chief  command. — He  presses  the  organization  of  the  new 
forces. — Their  distribution  and  that  of  the  general  forces. — Positions 
of  the  Polish  army  and  the  detached  corps. — Russian  position. 

After  the  memorable  battle  of  Grochow,  fought 
on  the  25th  of  February,  before  the  walls  of  War- 
saw, a  day  on  which  we  had  defeated  a  force  three 
times  superior  to  our  own,  the  prince  Radziwil 
made  the  passage  of  the  Vistula  to  Warsaw  and 
the  left  bank.  The  objects  which  he  had  in  view 
in  that  movement  we  have  already  detailed.  Two 
battalions  of  infantry,  with  thirty-six  pieces  of 
artillery,  were  left  to  defend  the  fortifications  of 
Praga,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula  opposite  to 
and  separated  by  a  bridge  from  Warsaw,  and 
which  were  in  the  form  of  a  horn-work,  supported 
on  each  wing  by  the  river. 

The  army  was  disposed  in  the  following  man- 
ner upon  the  left  bank.  The  cavalry  were  posted 
in  positions  a  few  miles  above  and  below  Warsaw. 
The  infantry  and  the  artillery  were  either  concen- 
trated in  Warsaw,  or  were  encamped  near  the  city. 


176  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

Upon  receiving  the  resignation  of  prince  Radziwil, 
the  national  government  proceeded  to  the  choice 
of  his  successor,  and  on  the  27th  of  February, 
1831,  elected,  by  an  unanimous  voice,  to  the  chief 
command  of  all  the  national  forces,  the  hero  of 
Dobre,  general  John  Skrzynecki,  a  man  of  the 
most  devoted  patriotism,  of  great  decision  of  char- 
acter, and  uncommon  military  talent.  He  was, 
above  all,  eminently  possessed  of  that  rapidity  of 
coup  d^oeilj  that  capacity  of  seizing  conjunctures, 
which  enabled  him,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  com- 
plicated movements,  to  perceive,  and  instantly  to 
profit  by,  every  advantage  which  offered  itself. 
This  general  was,  in  the  time  of  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment, and  at  the  commencement  of  our  revolu- 
tion, colonel  of  the  8th  regiment  of  infantry  of  the 
line,  a  regiment  by  which  he  was  regarded  with 
an  almost  filial  attachment.  On  the  enrollment 
of  new  forces,  after  the  revolution  had  taken  place, 
he  was  made  general  of  brigade.  In  the  month 
of  January,  before  the  commencement  of  the  cam- 
paign, he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  general  of  a 
division,  and  the  command  of  the  3d  division  of 
infantry  was  confided  to  him,  at  the  head  of  which 
division,  as  the  reader  already  knows,  he  gained 
laurels  in  several  brilliant  actions. 

On  the  27th,  at  mid-day,  proclamation  was 
made  of  the  abdication  of  the  prince  Radzivil,  and 
the  appointment  of  general  Skrzynecki,  as  com- 
mander in  chief  of  the  army.  The  nation  to 
whom  the  great  merit  of  this  officer  was  already 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  177 

SO  well  known,  received  this  annunciation  with  the 
greatest  satisfaction.  No  dissentient  voice  was 
heard.  Even  the  oldest  generals  in  the  service 
warmly  applauded  the  choice.  General  Skrzy- 
necki,  on  receiving  the  chief  command,  addressed 
to  the  army,  on  the  28th  of  February,  the  follow- 
ing proclamation  :  — 

'  Soldiers  and  brethren  !  God  has  willed  that, 
through  your  choice,  I  should  be  made  the  instru- 
ment of  his  providence  in  the  important  trust  to 
which  I  have  been  designated.  The  Senate,  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  the  National  Govern- 
ment have  honored  me  with  a  difficult  task,  which 
I  cannot  worthily  execute,  but  as  your  valor  and 
constancy  shall  second  me.  Soldiers  !  we  have 
before  us  an  enemy,  proud  of  his  former  suc- 
cesses, of  his  strength  in  numbers,  and  of  the 
influence  which  he  exercises  in  Europe.  But 
if,  in  one  point  of  view,  his  power  appears  for- 
midable, on  the  other  hand,  the  outrages  with 
which  the  Russian  government  have  oppressed  us, 
render  that  enemy  so  guilty  in  the  eyes  of  God 
and  of  man,  that,  full  of  confidence  in  Providence 
and  the  sacredness  of  our  cause,  we  can  boldly 
measure  our  strength  with  him.  We  have  only  to 
swear  in  our  hearts  that  we  will  be  faithful  to  that 
motto  which  we  so  often  repeat,  "  To  conquer  or 
die  for  our  country,"  and  we  shall  surely  serve  as 
an  example,  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  of  encour- 
agement to  the  defenders  of  the  sacred  rights  of, 


178  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

the  people.  If  we  do  not  succeed  in  conquering 
our  powerful  enemy,  we  will  not  live  to  submit  to 
him  —  to  him  who  has  violated  in  regard  to  us 
every  obligation  of  good  feith.  There  is  enough 
of  glory  in  the  sacrifice  which  I  call  on  you  to 
make ;  and  in  this  heroic  career,  and  so  full  of 
danger,  I  offer  you  crowns  of  laurel.  We  shall  be 
sure  to  gain  them,  if  you  will  support  me  by  your 
valor,  your  union,  your  subordination,  and  your 
promptitude  in  performing  the  orders  which  will  be 
given  you.' 

The  first  object  upon  which  the  attention  of  the 
general  in  chief  was  fixed,  was  the  state  of  the 
army.  Even  from  the  first  hour  of  his  investiture 
with  the  chief  command,  prompt  and  energetic 
orders  and  instructions  were  issued,  to  form  new 
forces,  to  complete  those  which  were  already  in  a 
state  of  formation,  and  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the 
regiments  which  had  suffered  in  the  late  engage- 
ments. During  the  dictatorship  of  Chlopicki,  and 
under  the  command  of  the  prince  Radziwil,  all  the 
arrangements  of  the  military  administration  were 
sluggishly  attended  to,  as  the  reader  is  well  aware. 
At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Grochow  there  had 
been  only  ten  thousand  new  infantry  levied,  and 
even  this  infantry  was  neither  well  organized  nor 
armed  ;  the  only  armament  of  the  greater  part  of 
them  consisted  of  pikes  or  pitchforks.  It  was  the 
same  with  the  new  cavalry,  of  which  the  number 
at  the  time  of  that  battle  did  not  amount  to  more 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  179 

than  three  thousand  six  hundred  :  and  even  these 
forces  w^ere  not  formed  by  the  exertions  of  the 
government,  but  were  volunteers.  In  the  arsenals 
the  works  were  not  conducted  with  promptitude. 
This  department  of  the  military  administration  had 
been  made  great  account  of  on  paper,  but  was  in 
reality  neglected.  As  we  have  before  remarked, 
the  time  was  occupied  in  useless  diplomatic  dis- 
cussions, while  the  subject  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance —  the  armament  of  our  forces,  was  lost  sight 
of.  General  Skrzynecki  was  well  aware  of  this 
neglect,  and  soon  gave  a  new  aspect  to  these  mat- 
ters. From  the  1st  of  March,  in  which  he  com- 
menced the  inspection  of  the  arsenals,  he  was  daily 
occupied  with  this  duty,  entering  into  all  the  de- 
tails, (with  which  he  was  familiarly  acquainted,) 
and  infusing  a  new  vigor  and  promptitude  into  this 
essential  department  of  the  military  administration. 
In  fact  in  the  several  manufactories  of  arms,  six 
hundred  musquets  per  day  were  soon  made. 

The  soldiers,  who  before  had  but  rarely  seen 
their  commander,  and  to  the  greater  part  of  whom 
indeed  the  former  commander  was  personally  un- 
known, were  elated  to  meet  their  chief  often 
among  them,  and  their  enthusiasm  was  augmented 
by  the  frequent  words  of  encouragement  with 
which  he  took  every  occasion  to  address  them. 
General  Skrzynecki  established  a  new  regulation  in 
respect  to  the  conferring  of  orders  of  merit,  which 
was,  that  none  should  be  given  either  to  the  officers 
or  the  soldiers,  but  upon  the  expressed  consent  and 


180  THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

approbation  of  the  latter.  By  thus  submitting  the 
conferring  of  these  honors  to  the  judgment  of  the 
soldier,  he  encouraged  his  self-respect,  destroyed 
the  power  of  the  personal  influence  of  the  gener- 
als, and  added  much  to  the  value  of  those  honors 
as  a  motive  for  exertion.* 

*  This  regulation  led  to  an  occasion  for  the  exhibition  of 
the  firmness  of  general  Skrzynecki's  character.  On  the 
very  day  of  the  issuing  of  the  order,  the  general  of  division, 
Szembek,  brought  in  a  report,  in  which  he  presented  for 
decorations  the  names  of  several  officers.  General  Skrzy- 
necki  refused  his  application.  General  Szembek,  thinking 
himself  injured  by  this  refusal,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
general  in  chief,  renewing  his  application,  and  adding  that 
if  it  should  not  be  granted,  he  would  feel  obliged  to  sur- 
render his  commission.  General  Skrzynecki,  far  from  be- 
ing moved  from  the  resolution  which  he  had  adopted,  again 
promptly  refused  the  request.  Szembek  surrendered  his 
commission.  The  whole  nation  regretted  the  loss  of  the 
valuable  services  of  this  officer,  and  under  such  circum- 
stances. But  in  regretting  their  loss  they  applauded  the 
firmness  of  general  Skrzynecki.  The  latter  indeed  felt  this 
regret  strongly,  but  on  the  other  hand  he  was  satisfied  that 
he  had  done  his  duty.  The  opinion  of  most  of  the  patriots 
was  decidedly  expressed  against  general  Szembek,  who, 
upon  such  a  point  of  personal  feeling,  could  forget  his  du- 
ties to  his  country,  and  abandon  the  ranks  of  his  fellow- 
soldiers,  by  whom  he  was  held  in  high  estimation.  Szem- 
bek indeed  more  than  once  reproached  himself  for  the  sacri- 
fice which  he  had  thus  made.  The  following  anecdote  will 
show  the  degree  to  which  general  Skrzynecki  was  beloved 
by  the  army,  and  the  influence  which  his  appointment  to 
the  chief  command  had  on  the  minds  of  the  soldiers.  A 
soldier  named  Golembiewski,  of  the  7th  regiment  of  in- 
fantry, who  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Boimie, 
had,  on  the  1st  day  of  March,  left  the  hospital  convalescent, 
although  his  wounds  were  not  entirely  healed.  Skrzynecki, 
while  inspecting  the  regiment,  noticed  him  with  his  head 
still  bandaged,  and  said  to  him,  ♦  My  dear  comrade,  why 
have  you  left  the  hospital  in  such  a  state  ?  You  had  bet- 
ter return  immediately.'  The  soldier  answered,  *  General, 
I  have  heard  of  your  courage  and  your  achievements,  and 


THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION.  181 

The  time  at  which  Skrzynecki  received  the  chief 
command,  was  indeed  a  happy  period  with  us,  and 
enthusiasm  was  then  at  the  very  greatest  height. 
No  stronger  evidence  of  this  could  be  given,  than 
the  fact  that  the  women  of  Poland  actually  formed 
three  companies  of  infantry,  composed  from  their 
own  sex.* 

Our  army  was  victorious  and  full  of  energy,  and 
being  then  at  Warsaw,  it  enjoyed  all  the  conven- 

how  much  you  are  beloved  by  the  nation,  and  I  could  not 
refuse  myself  the  satisfaction  of  being  present  at  the  first 
fire  under  your  command,  and  in  which  I  hope  that  the 
Polish  army  will  be  victorious.'  Skrzynecki,  embracing 
him,  exclaimed,  '  With  such  soldiers  to  command,  I  need 
have  no  fear  that  I  shall  fail  to  support  the  honor  of  my 
country.' 

*  The  Polish  women,  wishing  to  share  the  dangers  and 
sufferings,  and  to  witness  the  triumphs  of  their  brethren, 
proposed  to  follow  the  example  of  the  daughters  of  Sparta, 
and  to  form  three  companies  under  the  command  of  several 
ladies  of  the  most  distinguished  families.  They  proposed 
to  march  upon  the  rear  of  the  army,  and  when  an  action 
occurred,  they  were  to  advance  to  the  aid  of  their  country- 
men. The  first  company,  to  be  composed  of  the  young 
and  active,  were  to  receive  and  carry  off  the  wounded  from 
the  field  of  battle,  thus  at  the  same  time  animating  the  sol- 
diers by  their  presence.  The  second  company  was  to  be 
placed  near  the  vehicles  in  which  the  wounded  were  trans- 
ported, there  to  receive  and  place  them,  and  to  dress  their 
wounds.  The  third  was  to  take  charge  of  the  provisions, 
the  preparation  of  lint  and  bandages,  and  even  of  the  wash- 
ing of  the  clothing  of  the  soldiers.  These  patriotic  propo- 
sitions, however,  neither  the  nation  nor  the  general  in  chief 
were  willing  to  accept,  considering  that  the  fatigues  of  a 
campaign  would  be  too  trying  to  the  female  constitution. 
But  to  satisfy  in  some  degree  the  noble  impulses  of  these 
ladies,  the  three  companies  were  distributed  among  the  hos- 
pitals, to  take  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  there. 
23 


182  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

iences  which  could  be  required  by  an  army  in  a 
state  of  war.  Their  arms  of  every  kind  were  well 
constructed,  and  in  good  order.  The  Russian 
army,  on  the  other  hand,  was  in  a  most  disadvan- 
tageous situation.  Their  number  had  been  sensi- 
bly diminished,  and  was  diminishing  every  day, 
from  the  difficulty  of  subsistence  and  shelter,  situ- 
ated as  they  were  in  the  environs  of  Praga  which 
had  been  sacked  and  burnt  by  themselves. 

Marshal  Diebitsch  and  his  army  began  to  be 
convinced,  by  the  victories  which  had  been  gained 
over  them,  and  the  firm  resistance  which  they  had 
uniformly  met,  that  they  were  fighting  with  a  na- 
tion which  had  resolved  to  sacrifice  every  thing  for 
liberty  and  independence,  and  that  this  war,  which 
Diebitsch  expected,  and  even  promised,  to  finish 
in  a  few  weeks,  would  be  long  protracted,  and  pre- 
sented to  him  as  yet  no  hope  of  a  fortunate  issue. 
A  certain  degree  of  disorder  also  began  to  take  place 
in  the  Russian  army,  caused  by  the  physical  wants 
and  the  severe  treatment  to  which  the  soldiers 
were  subjected.  Their  wounded  and  sick  were 
left  neglected,  and  were  accumulated  in  great 
numbers  in  the  ruined  buildings  of  the  half-burnt 
villages,  exposed  to  the  open  air  in  the  severe 
month  of  February.  Desertions  too  began  to  take 
place.  Every  day,  indeed,  small  parties  of  deserters, 
and  among  them  even  officers,  arrived  at  Warsaw. 
Those  men  assured  us  that  a  smothered  discontent 
pervaded  the  army.  They  stated  that  the  soldiers 
had  marched  under  the  expectation  that  they  were 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  183 

to  act  against  the  French  and  Belgians,  and  not 
against  the  Poles,  whose  revolution  had  been  rep- 
resented to  them  as  merely  the  revolt  of  one  or 
two  regiments  ;  and  that,  seeing  the  true  state  of 
things,  great  numbers  of  them  desired  even  to 
unite  with  us,  when  a  favorable  moment  should 
offer.  These  unfortunate  men,  who  were  in  the 
most  deplorable  state,  wdth  tears  in  their  eyes,  ad- 
dressed themselves  to  our  soldiers  in  terms  like 
these :  *  Dear  Poles,  do  you  think  that  we  wil- 
lingly fight  against  you  ?  what  could  we  do  ?  We 
were  compelled  to  march  against  you  by  the  force 
of  blows.  Many  of  our  brethren  gave  out,  and, 
falling  from  exhaustion  on  the  road,  have  died 
under  the  blows  of  the  knout.'  These  deserters 
stated  also  that  such  a  severity  was  exercised  in 
the  regulations  of  the  camp,  that  some  officers 
were  shot,  merely  for  having  spoken  on  political 
subjects ;  and  that  it  was  strictly  forbidden  to  any 
persons  to  assemble  together  to  the  number  of 
three  or  four.  Such  information  satisfied  us,  that, 
although  the  Russian  army  was  strong  in  numbers, 
morally  speaking,  it  was  weak.  Our  own  army 
began  soon  to  conceive  high  hopes,  and  to  dream 
of  victory  under  its  brave  chief.* 

*  To  satisfy  the  reader  that  marshal  Diebitsch  had  began 
to  be  conscious  of  his  weakness,  the  following  trifling  cir- 
cumstances will  suffice.  On  the  first  day  of  March,  two  of 
our  soldiers  who  had  been  made  prisoners  by  the  Russians, 
returned  to  Warsaw,  and  presented  themselves  to  the  gene- 
ral in  chief.  One  of  them,  who  was  a  Galician  volunteer,^ 
on  the  question  being  asked  in  what  way  they  escaped, 
answered,  that   general  Diebitsch   himself  dismissed  them 


184  THE    POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

At  this  period,  with  the  exception  of  Prussia,  who 
had  publicly  manifested  her  hostility  to  our  cause, 
none  of  the  great  powers  had  directly  injured  us. 
Austria  was  occupied  with  Italy.  From  France 
and  England  the  Poles  had  even  cherished  hopes 
of  a  favorable  interposition.      From  the  former, 

with  a  present  of  four  ducata  each,  enjoining  them  to  make 
it  known  in  the  army,  and  to  say  that  each  soldier  who 
should  go  over  to  the  Russians,  would  receive  a  like  sum, 
and  in  addition  to  it  a  portion  of  land  sufficient  for  his  main- 
tenance ;  and  that  moreover  they  should  not  be  forced  to 
enter  the  service  of  the  army.  He  also  assured  them  that 
if  they  should  return  with  many  of  their  comrades,  to  ac- 
cept these  terms,  they  should  be  made  officers.  *  Dear 
general,'  the  Galician  added,  '  we  have  sought  your  presence, 
in  order  to  apprize  you  of  these  circumstances,  and  to  place 
you  upon  your  guard.  The  money  which  we  have  received, 
we  request  you  to  take  as  a  contribution  to  the  service  of 
our  country.  We  have  no  need  of  it ;  your  care  will  pro- 
vide for  our  wants,  and  our  desires  are  limited  to  the  satis- 
faction of  fighting  for  the  cause  of  our  beloved  country.' 
These  brave  soldiers  were  hailed  with  enthusiastic  expres- 
sions of  respect  and  affi^ction  by  their  comrades,  and  the 
circumstance  was  published  in  an  order  of  the  day,  to  the 
whole  army.  This  adoption  of  such  a  system  of  intrigue 
,  and  espionage  indicated  sufficiently  the  sense  of  weakness 
which  marshal  Diebitsch  began  to  feel,  in  the  situation  in 
which  he  was  then  placed. 

One  of  our  generals  published  in  the  Gazette  some  re- 
marks upon  this  conduct  of  general  Diebitsch,  from  which 
the  following  is  a  passage.  '  Marshal !  such  conduct  is  re- 
proachful to  you  ;  and  by  it,  you  have  strengthened  the  cur- 
rent suspicions  of  the  world,  that  the  passage  of  the  Balkan, 
which  has  given  you  such  a  name  in  history,  was  made  upon 
a  bridge  of  gold.  But  if  such  measures  might  have  been 
successful  in  Turkey,  they  will  not  do  in  Poland.  If  yoii 
do  not  by  this  time  know  it,  I  can  assure  you  that  every 
Pole  is  willing  to  sacrifice  his  all  in  the  cause  of  his  country, 
and  your  ofi'ers  can  therefore  avail  little.  I  repeat  to  you, 
that  the  words  of  our  motto  are,  "  to  die  or  conquer." 
Come  then,  Marshal,  with  the  sabre,  and  not  with  ducats, 
to  the  contest !' 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  185 

especially,  after  the  intelligence  derived  from  the 
correspondence  of  the  two  ministers,  Lubecki  and 
Grabowski,  found  among  the  papers  of  Constan- 
tine,  which  has  been  presented  to  the  reader, 
(giving  satisfactory  evidence  that  Russia  was  in 
preparation  for  a  campaign  against  her,  and  show- 
ing that  our  cause  was  the  cause  of  France,)  we 
had  certainly  the  right  to  cherish  the  strongest 
hopes.  But  more  important  still  than  all  these 
circumstances,  was  the  intelligence  received  of  a 
revolution  which  had  broken  out  in  the  Russian 
dejDartment  of  Orenburg,  under  the  famous  Yer- 
molow,  and  the  point  of  concentration  of  which 
was  to  have  been  the  town  of  Samara,  situated  on 
the  frontier  of  Europe  and  Asia.  The  highest 
expectations  were  entertained  of  the  results  of  this 
movement,  from  our  knowledge  of  the  character 
of  this  celebrated  general,  and  of  his  great  influ- 
ence, as  one  of  that  distinguished  family  of  Yer- 
molow,  perhaps  the  most  influential  in  the  empire, 
(which,  in  fact,  cherishes  pretensions  to  the 
throne,)  and  of  the  distinction  which  he  had  ac- 
quired as  a  bold  and  firm  leader,  in  a  service  of 
many  years. 

His  proclamations  to  the  Russians,  of  which  a 
few  copies  were  found  on  the  persons  of  their  offi- 
cers who  were  killed  in  the  battle  of  Grochow, 
were  full  of  energy,  and  breathed  the  sentiments 
of  a  true  republican  —  of  one  who  calmly  and  dis- 
passionately  aims    at   the    goDd   of  his   country. 


186  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION 

These   proclamations    were   published  in   all  the 
gazettes  of  Warsaw  on  the  first  of  March.* 

*  Extract  from  the  proclamation  of  Yermolow.  '  Brave 
sons  of  Russia  !  An  old  man  of  seventy,  who,  the  contem- 
porary of  four  reigns,  knows  well  his  nation  and  its  sove- 
reigns, lifts  his  voice  towards  you,  with  a  heart  devoted  to 
the  good  of  his  country.  He  wishes,  in  the  decline  of  a  life 
which  has  been  agitated  by  the  storms  of  despotism,  to  in- 
fuse into  your  hearts  the  sentiments  of  liberty,  and  to  die  a 
freeman.  Our  complaints  have  been  uttered  in  vain :  our 
blood  has  been  shed  in  vain.  Are  these  complaints  the  only 
arms  worthy  of  the  Russian  people  1  No  !  It  is  With  the 
sword  in  hand,  in  the  capital  itself,  on  the  field  of  battle,  in 
the  north  and  in  the  south,  that  you  should  claim  your  na- 
tional liberty.  The  idols  of  despotism  will  fall  before  you. 
The  books  of  the  divine  law  will  be  opened.  The  Czars 
will  become  the  fathers  of  their  people  :  we  shall  be  no  longer 
orphans  and  strangers  upon  our  native  soil.  As  the  French 
and  English  have  done,  and  even  as  the  Greeks,  our  breth- 
ren in  Jesus  Christ,  have  done,  we  will  swear  to  conquer  our 
liberty,  and  that  achievement  will  immortalize  us.  Nations 
less  celebrated,  and  less  populous  than  ours,  surrounded  by 
monarchs  who  have  combined  to  destroy  them,  have  arisen. 
Their  brave  men  have  joined  together.  They  hasten,  at  the 
call  of  their  country,  to  defend  their  national  liberty,  by  their 
arms  and  their  acts  of  valor.  The  hour  is  come.  God,  who 
holds  in  his  hands  the  fate  of  kings  and  people,  will  bless  us. 
Russians  !  break  the  chains  of  despotism  !  You  have  sworn 
fidelity  to  the  Czar,  but  he  also  has  sworn  to  be  our  father. 
He  has  perjured  himself,  and  we  are  therefore  released  from 
our  oaths.  Respect  nevertheless  the  person  of  the  Czar, 
for  he'  is  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  and  our  sovereign.  Limit 
yourselves  to  a  change  of  the  form  of  the  government,  and 
demand  a  constitution.  Rise  up,  and  the  throne  will  trem- 
ble. But  if  the  despot  should  attempt  to  arrest  your  enter- 
pi-ize  by  the  aid  of  the  accomplices  upon  whom  he  lavishes 
all  his  favors,  forgetting  that  he  is  our  monarch,  and  not 
theirs,  and  that  he  is  the  father  of  the  great  family  of  Rus- 
sians ;  it  is  then  that  it  will  be  seen  that  the  autocracy  must 
cease  to  exist,  that  the  Russians  long  for  liberty,  that  they 
can  and  will  be  free.  Yermolow. 

Samara,  29^A  of  January,  1831.' 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  187 

This  general  was  for  a  long  while  governor  of 
the  provinces  beyond  the  Caucasus,  Abassia, 
Migretia,  Imiretia,  and  Georgia,  provinces  which 
were  conquered  from  Persia  and  Turkey.  Besides 
possessing  a  great  degree  of  military  knowledge, 
Yermolow  was  familiar  with  the  duties  of  the  civil 
administration.  Those  provinces  were  happy 
under  his  government.  He  ameliorated  the  state 
of  the  commerce  by  which  they  were  enriched. 
The  city  of  Tiflis,  under  him,  rapidly  increased  to 
a  great  extent.  That  city  became  in  fact  a  gen- 
eral depot  of  all  the  trade  of  Armenia,  Persia,  and 
Turkey  in  Asia.  This  general,  who  could  have 
held  a  post  of  greater  distinction,  and  nearer  the 
throne,  asked  for  this  situation  with  the  view  to 
be  removed  as  far  as  possible  from  that  court  which 
he  despised,  and  the  intrigues  of  which  excited  his 
abhorrence.  Out  of  the  reach  of  its  influence,  he 
could  follow  the  impulses  of  his  heart,  and  labor 
for  the  happiness  of  his  fellow  men.  But  this 
separation  was  not  enough ;  those  intrigues  passed 
the  barrier  of  the  Caucasus  to  interrupt  him  in  his 
benevolent  labors.  Several  commissions  were  sent 
to  make  inquiries  into  his  administration  in  various 
departments.  Yermolow,  to  avoid  these  persecu- 
tions, sent  in  his  resignation.  General,  now  mar- 
shal Paszkewiczh,  filled  his  place.  Yermolow,  on 
quitting  his  post,  retired  to  his  own  estates  in  the 
government  of  Orenburg,  and  lived  there  quietly 
in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  The  breaking  out  of 
the  revolutions  of  France,  Belgium,  and  at  last 


188  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

that  of  Poland,  filled  his  heart  with  joy.  He 
hoped  that  the  time  was  near  at  hand,  when  the 
people  would  have  security  for  their  rights,  and 
would  emerge  from  the  darkness  into  which  des- 
potism had  plunged  them.  He  commenced  the 
revolution  in  his  part  of  the  empire,  and  (as  we 
learnt  at  Warsaw)  sustained  himself  for  a  long 
while  against  the  superior  forces  which  were  sent 
against  him.  He  was  not,  however,  sufficiently 
supported  by  the  people,  and  was  too  isolated  to 
continue  hostilities.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  that  he 
did  not  commence  this  movement  in  the  provinces 
which  border  upon  Poland. 

A    VIEW  OF  THE  STATE    OP  THE  POLISH  FORCES  AT  THE    PERIOD 
OF    SKRZYNECKl's  APPOINTMENT  TO  THE  CHIEF  COMMAND. 

After  the  battle  of  Grochow,  the  Polish  grand 
army  w^as  composed,  as  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war,  of  nine  regiments  of  infantry,  each  con- 
sisting of  three  battalions.  They  amounted,  after 
deducting  the  losses  sustained  during  the  cam- 
paign, to  about  25,000.  The  newly  formed  in- 
fantry, which  was  in  the  battle  of  Grochow, 
amounted  to  about  6,000  ;  from  which  are  to  be 
deducted  about  500,  lost  in  that  battle.  The 
whole  force  of  infantry,  then,  amounted  to  30,500 
mea.  The  cavalry  was  also  composed  of  nine 
regiments,  each  comprising  four  squadrons  ;  mak- 
ing, after  the  deduction  of  the  losses  by  that  bat- 
tle, about  6,000  in  all.  The  newly-formed  cav- 
alry, consisting  of  eighteen  squadrons,  can  also  be 


THt:  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  189 

estimated,  after  the  losses  at  Grochow,  at  about 
3,000 ;  making,  in  all,  9,000  cavalry.  The  artil- 
lery was  composed  of  ninety-six  pieces  of  cannon. 

Total  of  the  grand  army  :  —  Infantry^  30,500 
Cavalry^  9,000.     Artillery^  96  pieces. 

The  detached  corps  of  general  Dwernicki  con- 
sisted, at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  of  one 
regiment  of  infantry,  composed  of  three  battalions, 
numbering,  after  the  losses  of  the  campaign,  2,800 
men.  The  cavalry  consisted  of  six  squadrons, 
making,  in  all,  about  1,000.  The  artillery,  con- 
sisting at  first  of  but  three  pieces,  augmented  by 
seven  pieces  taken  from  the  Russians,  amounted 
then  to  10  pieces. 

The  small  partizan  corps  under  the  command 
of  colonel  Valentin,  operating  in  the  environs  of 
Pultusk,  consisted  of  600  infantry  and  100  cavalry. 

The  garrison  of  Zamosc  consisted  of  3,000  in- 
fantry and  eighty-four  pieces  of  cannon.  That  of 
Modlin,  of  3,500  infantry  and  seventy-two  pieces 
of  cannon  ;  and  that  of  Praga,  of  2,000  infantry 
and  thirty-six  pieces  of  cannon. 

The  total  amount  then,  of  disposable  forces, 
(excluding,  of  course,  the  garrisons,)  on  the  1st  of 
March,  the  day  on  which  Skrzynecki  took  the 
command,  was,  —  Infantry^  33,900.  Cavalry, 
10,100.     Artillery,  106  pieces. 

General  Skrzynecki  renewed  the  arrangements 
of  the  dictator  Chlopicki,  in  regard  to  the  organi- 
zation of  new  forces.  These  were,  that  each  de- 
partment should  furnish  from  6  to  8,000  infantry 
24 


190  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

and  1,000  cavalry.  When  this  arrangement  was 
first  made,  four  departments  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Vistula,  were  occupied  by  the  enemy  ;  viz, 
Augustow,  Podlasia,  Lublin,  and  Plock.  Besides 
the  forces  which  these  departments  should  furnish, 
general  Skrzynecki  proposed  to  the  nation,  that  in 
the  other  departments,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Vis- 
tula, viz.  Mazovia,  Kalisz,  Sandomierz,  and  Cra- 
covia,  a  general  levy  should  be  made.  These  ar- 
rangements were  executed  with  such  promptitude, 
that  six  regiments  of  two  battalions  each,  the 
formation  of  which  had  begun  in  December,  and 
were  but  half  formed  on  the  1st  of  March,  were, 
by  the  10th,  in  a  complete  state  for  service. 
Those  regiments  were  distributed  among  the  four 
divisions  of  the  grand  army.  In  addition  to  these, 
four  regiments  of  cavalry,  of  four  squadrons  each, 
were  also  formed  ;  and  in  this  manner,  the  army 
received  a  reinforcement  of  12,000  infantry,  among 
which  were  2,000  volunteer  chasseurs,  and  of 
3,200  cavalry.  These  newly  levied  forces,  besides 
being  well  equipped  and  in  fine  condition,  were 
full  of  spirit  and  energy.  When  Skrzynecki  made 
the  inspection  of  these  new  troops,  they  entreated 
of  him  to  be  led  to  the  first  fire. 

In  addition  to  the  above  forces,  general  Skrzy- 
necki ordered  the  formation  of  eight  regiments  of 
infantry  and  four  of  cavalry,  to  be  kept  as  a  reserve 
to  fill  the  ranks  of  the  army  as  they  should  be 
wasted  by  the  campaign.     From  this  last  body, 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  191 

was  afterwards,  (on  the  1st  of  May,)  formed  a  fifth 
division.  The  infantry  of  the  grand  army  was 
distributed  into  four  divisions.  They  were  formed 
and  commanded  as  follows  :  — 

The  1st  division,  under  general  Rybinski,  con- 
sisted of  four  regiments.  The  2d  division,  under 
general  Gielgud,  three  regiments.  The  3d  division, 
under  general  Malachowski,  four  regiments.  The 
4th  division,  under  general  Muhlberg,  four  regi- 
ments. The  total  of  the  four  divisions  was  about 
45,000  men. 

In  this  number  are  included  the  different  small 
detachments  of  volunteers,  who  acted  with  the 
army. 

Besides  this  infantry,  was  the  National  Guard 
of  Warsaw,  amounting  to  10,000  men. 

The  cavalry  were  also  formed  into  four  divisions, 
as  follows.  The  1st  division,  under  the  command 
of  general  Uminski,  16  squadrons.  The  2d,  under 
general  Lubinski,  16  squadrons.  The  3d,  under 
general  Stryinski,  16  squadrons.  The  4th,  which 
formed  the  reserve  of  19  squadrons,  was  under 
general  Pac.  The  whole  force  of  cavalry  amount- 
ed to  about  14,000. 

The  construction  and  completion  of  the  fortifica- 
tions at  Warsaw  and  Praga  were  not  less  actively 
pressed  than  the  administration  of  the  army  ;  and, 
as  the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula,  on  which  Warsaw 
is  situated,  commands  the  right,  with  Praga  and 
its  environs,  general  Skrzynecki  placed  on  the  left 


192  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

bank  twelve  pieces  of  cannon  of  24  pound  calibre, 
on  the  heights  of  Dynasow  and  Zoliborz.  This 
battery  covered  with  its  lire  the  neighboring  plain, 
to  the  extent  of  a  circle  of  three  miles  in  diameter, 
and  could  overpower  any  battery  which  the  enemy 
might  open  against  Praga.  That  town  is  divided 
into  two  parts,  the  first  of  which  borders  on  the 
Vistula,  and  formed  the  bridge-head  of  the  posi- 
tion ;  the  other  part,  which  is  more  distant,  was 
not  fortified.  This  latter  part  was  taken  possession 
of  by  the  Russians,  after  the  battle  of  Grochow, 
and  was  burnt  by  them.  To  the  inhabitants  this 
was  a  disaster ;  but  for  our  defence  it  was  a  most 
favorable  circumstance,  as  it  left  the  enemy's  ap- 
proach unprotected,  and  opened  a  range  for  our 
fire. 

General  Krukowiecki,  who  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  Warsaw,  continued  the  works  in  the  city 
and  its  suburbs  with  great  activity.  The  rampart, 
which  surrounds  the  city  beyond  the  walls,  had 
been  constructed  for  a  defence  against  musquetry 
only ;  but  at  several  points,  it  was  now  made 
defensible  against  artillery.  The  ditch  was  con- 
siderably widened  and  deepened.  Beyond  the 
ramparts,  the  city  was  surrounded  by  a  chain  of 
lunettes^  placed  in  two  lines,  so  as  to  alternate  with 
each  other,  and  afford  a  mutual  support.  The  city 
itself  was  divided  into  six  parts  ;  each  part  being 
susceptible  of  an  independent  defence.  The  bar- 
ricades in  the  streets  were  constructed  with  open- 
ings for  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  above  which  plat- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  193 

forms  were  raised  for  the  infantry.     Mines  were 
also  prepared  in  different  parts  of  the  city.* 

The  positions  of  the  army,  and  of  the  different 
detached  corps  were  as  follows  :  —  The  infantry, 
the  artillery,  and  the  4th  division  of  cavalry  of  the 
grand  army,  were  at  Warsaw  and  its  environs. 
Three  divisions  of  cavalry  were  posted  above  and 
below  the  city,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  patrol  the  river,  and  to  guard 
the  communications  between  the  fortress  of  Mod- 
lin  and  Kozienice.  This  chain  of  patrols,  by 
watching  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  kept  the 
grand  army  continually  advised  of  his  intentions, 
and  in  constant  readiness  to  act  against  him,  at  any 
point  which  he  might  choose  for  attempting  the 
passage  of  the  Vistula. 

The  corps  of  general  Dwernicki  was  at  Pulawy. 
The  plan  of  operations  which  had  been  assigned  to 
him,  and  which,  indeed,  he  had  already  put  in  ex- 
ecution, was  to  transfer  the  seat  of  hostilities  to 
the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula,  to  hang  over  and 
harass  the  left  wing  of  the  enemy,  to  relieve  the 
palatinate  of  Lublin  from  his  presence,  and,  in  case 
of  danger,  to  fall  back  to  the  fortress  of  Zamosc, 
and  from  that  point  to  act  on  the  neighboring  re- 
gion, according  as  circumstances  might  indicate. 


*  In  the  construction  of  these  works  in  the  city  and  the 
environs,  all  the  citizens  engaged,  without  distinction  of  age 
or  sex.  One  of  the  outworks  received  the  name  of  the  '  hi- 
nette  of  the  women,'  having  been  constructed  wholly  by  the 
hands  of  the  fair  sex. 


194  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Colonel  Valentin  was  in  the  environs  of  Pultusk, 
with  his  small  corps  of  partizans.  In  concert  with 
the  garrison  of  Modlin,  he  was  to  act  on  the  right 
wing  of  the  enemj,  and  hold  in  check  all  his  ma- 
noeuvres upon  Plock.  This  concave  line  of  opera- 
tions, of  which  the  extremities  were  at  Zamosc 
and  Modlin,  and  the  centre  at  Warsaw  and  Praga, 
was  strengthened  by  the  Vistula,  which,  although 
frozen,  would  not  allow  of  a  passage  by  the  enemy 
in  large  bodies,  or  of  the  construction  of  a  bridge, 
as  the  ice  of  the  river  was  momentarily  expected 
to  break  up. 

The  position  of  the  Russian  army  was  as  follows. 
The  right  wing  was  at  Nowy-dwor,  opposite  to 
Modlin.  At  Jablonna,  which  is  situated  half  way 
from  Praga  to  Nowy-dwor,  was  placed  a  strong 
detachment.  At  Praga  were  two  divisions,  one  of 
infantry,  and  the  other  of  cavalry,  with  twelve 
pieces  of  cannon,  under  the  command  of  general 
Giesmar.  The  greater  body  of  the  Russian  forces 
was  between  Wawr  and  Milosna  ;  and  with  them 
was  the  head-quarters  of  Diebitsch  and  Constan- 
tine.  Their  left  wing  occupied  Karczew,  and 
their  patrols  extended  themselves  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  as  far  as  Macieowice. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Operations  of  the  corps  of  general  Dwernicki  against  the  Russian  corps 
under  the  prince  of  Wirtemberg,  in  the  Palatinate  of  Lublin. — Battle 
of  Pulawy,  and  defeat  of  Wirtemberg. — Atrocities  of  that  prince  at 
Pulawy. — Pursuit  of  the  enemy. — Battle  of  Kurow,  and  annihilation 
of  Wirtemberg's  corps. — Operations  of  colonel  Valentin,  between 
Modlin  and  Pultusk. — A  detachment  of  the  enemy  is  surprised  at  Na- 
sielsk. — Transports  of  provisions  for  the  enemy  from  Prussia  taken. — 
Successful  skirmishes. — Marshal  Diebitsch  demands  the  capitulation 
of  the  fortress  of  Modlin.  Reply  of  colonel  Leduchowski. — A  de- 
tachment from  the  garrison  of  Modlin  attacks  and  defeats  a  Russian 
force  at  Serock. — General  Skrzynecki  makes  an  offer  of  pacification 
on  the  basis  of  the  concessions  originally  demanded  by  the  Poles. — 
This  proposition  is  rejected  and  hostilities  are  recommenced. — Recon- 
noissance  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula  under  Jankowski  and 
Gielgud. — A  Russian  corps  under  general  Witt  is  sent  against  Dwer- 
nicki.— General  Uminski  is  sent  against  the  Russian  guard. — First 
encounter. — The  Russian  guard  is  compelled  to  leave  their  position 
for  Ostrolenka.~The  guard  evacuates  Ostrolenkato  join  the  grand  army. 

On  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Grochow,  colonel 
Lagowski  fought  with  success  at  Pulawy,  at  the 
head  of  a  detachment  from  the  corps  of  general 
Dwernicki.  The  details  of  that  combat  are  as 
follows: 


COMBAT  OF  PULAWA.     [See  Plan  XIII.] 

The  prince  of  Wirtemberg,  having  been  beaten, 
as  the  reader  has  seen,  by  general  Dwernicki  at 
Swierza  and  Nowawies,  was  forced  to  retreat  rap- 
idly in  the  direction  of  Pulawy,  and  to  repass  the 
Vistula,  opposite  that  place.  The  ice  of  the  river 
was,  fortunately  for  him,  still  strong  enough  to  ad- 
mit of  a  passage  upon  its  surface ;  but  notwith- 
standing this  advantage,  he  had  been  pursued  by 
Dwernicki  so  closely,  through  the  whole  of  his  line 


196  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

of  retreat,  that  he  daily  lost  great  numbers  of  pris- 
oners. It  was  on  the  night  of  the  23d  of  Febru- 
ary, that  this  passage  was  made  by  the  Russians, 
and  Pulawy  occupied  by  them.  As  the  position  of 
that  place  was  strong  and  commanding,  general 
Dwernicki  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  attack  the 
enemy  in  front,  who,  although  beaten,  were  still 
superior  in  force.  He  conceived  the  plan  of  pass- 
ing the  Vistula,  at  a  point  at  some  distance  below 
Pulawy,  and  of  making  an  attack  upon  the  Russian 
right  wing.  On  the  evening  of  the  26th,  the 
brave  colonel  Lagowski,  with  500  infantry  \  nd  two 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  passed  the  Vistula  (/?).  On 
reaching  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  he  threw 
himself  into  the  forests  which  surround  Pulawy. 
The  position  of  Lagowski  would  have  been  critical, 
if  the  Russians  had  obtained  intelligence  of  this 
manoeuvre;  but  they  had  no  suspicions  of  it. 
Colonel  Lagowski,  expectirg  that  general  Dwer- 
nicki would  soon  make  a  demonstration  in  front, 
left  the  forest,  and  approached  the  town,  keeping 
up  a  brisk  fire  of  skirmishers  (a).  The  Russians, 
surprised  by  this  attack,  directed  against  it  as  strong 
a  fire  of  artillery  (/)  and  infantry  {d)  as  its  sud- 
denness would  allow  ;  but  our  light  troops  suc- 
ceeded in  approaching  the  town,  and  getting  pos- 
session of  several  houses,  keeping  up  a  continued 
fire.  The  two  squadrons  of  cavalry  (6)  which  had 
been  sent  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his  rear,  threw 
themselves  upon  him  at  the  same  time,  with  great 
impetuosity.     The  consternation  of  the  Russians 


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THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  197 

became  general,  ihe  greatest  disorder  soon  follow- 
ed, and  a  retreat  was  commenced,  which  was  at- 
tended with  the  loss  of  several  hundred  men  and 
horses,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery.  The  enemy, 
in  evacuating  the  town,  set  it  on  fire,  to  complete 
the  barbarities  which  they  had  been  practising. 
Pulawy,  a  spot  one  of  the  most  favored  of  nature, 
and  perhaps  presenting  one  of  the  finest  scenes  in 
Europe,  was  soon  a  mass  of  ruins,  the  sight  of 
which  filled  the  bosom  of  every  Pole  with  regret 
and  horror.  Those  ruins,  such  indeed  as  the 
whole  country  is  now  filled  with,  evidences  of  the 
horrible  barbarity  of  the  Russians,  in  recalling  to 
the  minds  of  the  Poles  the  lost  beauty  and  mag- 
nificence of  their  country,  will  be  a  pledge  of  their 
eternal  hatred  of  the  despotism  which  authorized 
those  ravages. 

The  Russians  had  gained  already  a  considerable 
distance  from  Pulawy,  before  the  corps  of  general 
Dvvernicki  approached  it,  and,  of  course,  the 
whole  glory  of  that  defeat  is  due  to  colonel  La- 
go  wski.^ 

*  General  Dwernicki,  on  arriving  at  Pulawy,  regarded  it 
as  his  first  duty  to  repair  to  the  palace  of  the  princess  Czar- 
toriski,  the  estimable  lady  of  the  president  of  the  National 
Senate,  to  offer  his  services  to  her,  and  to  assure  her  of 
safety.  On  entering  the  court,  the  venerable  Dvvernicki 
and  the  officers  who  accompanied  him,  could  not  restrain 
their  tears  at  the  sight  of  the  ruins  of  that  edifice,  so  use- 
lessly destroyed,  to  gratify  the  brutality  of  the  prince  of 
Wirtemberg,  who  pushed  his  fury  to  such  a  degree,  as  to 
have  directed  a  fire  of  artillery  against  the  central  division 
of  the  palace,  occupied  at  that  moment  by  the  princess  and 
her  attendants.     General  Dwernicki  and  his  officers,  struck 

25 


198  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

The  corps  of  general  Dwernicki,  after  a  short 
repose  at  Pulawy,  renewed  the  pursuit  of  the 
enemy  on  that  night.  In  every  part  of  their  route 
the  enemy's  stragglers  w^ere  continually  falling 
into  their  hands.  This  corps  overtook  the  enemy 
so  soon,  that  in  order  to  save  himself  from  total 
destruction,  he  vi^as  forced  to  give  battle. 

BATTLE  OF  KUROV^.     {See  Plans  XIV  and  XV.) 

General  Dwernicki,  in  his  pursuit  of  Wirtem- 
berg,  had  the  intention  of  effecting  the  destruction 

by  the  melancholy  scene  before  them,  feared  to  advance 
another  step,  in  the  dread  of  meeting  even  more  horrible 
traces  of  barbarity,  —  to  find  perhaps  the  princess  and  her 
suite  the  victims  of  Russian  cruelty.  But  what  was  their 
astonishment,  when,  on  entering  the  porch  of  the  edifice, 
they  were  accosted  by  the  princess,  who  with  a  cheerful  air 
exclaimed :  '  Brave  general,  and  officers  !  how  happy  am  I, 
that  God  has  allowed  me  to  greet  my  brave  countrymen 
once  more,  before  my  death.'  Then  giving  her  hand  to 
general  Dwernicki^  and  presenting  to  him  and  his  officers 
the  ladies  who  were  her  attendants  during  the  whole  of 
these  horrible  scenes,  she  continued,  *  General,  do  not  be 
astonished  to  see  us  accoutred  in  the  best  garments  which 
the  Russians  have  left  to  us ;  we  have  arrayed  ourselves  in 
our  funeral  attire,'  —  and  pointing  to  the  holes  with  which 
the  enemy's  artillery  had  pierced  the  walls,  she  added, 
*  Those  marks  will  explain  my  language.'  General  Dwer- 
nicki, struck  with  the  heroism  of  the  princess  and  her  com- 
panions, addressed  her  in  the  following  terms:  —  'Madam, 
permit  me,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  nation,  to  make  to  you 
the  homage  of  my  high  admiration.  Brave  indeed  ought 
Poles  to  be,  with  mothers  and  sisters  such  as  these  !'  He 
then  urged  upon  the  princess  the  expediency  of  leaving 
Pulawa,  which  might  still  be  the  scene  of  distressing  events, 
and  upon  this  suggestion  she  departed  under  an  escort  fur- 
nished by  general  Dwernicki,  for  her  estates  in  Galicia. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  199 

of  this  corps  before  thej  could  reach  Lublin.  To 
accomplish  this  object,  he  took  advantage  of  the 
two  roads  (g,  g)  which  lead  from  Pulawy  to  Lub- 
lin (1).  Remaining  himself  with  the  greater  part 
of  his  forces  (a)  upon  the  causeway  which  leads 
to  Lublin  by  Konskawola  (2),  Kurow  (3),  and 
Markuszew  (4),  he  sent  a  small  detachment  (6) 
with  two  pieces  of  cannon  by  the  other  and  smaller 
road,  which,  traversing  the  forest  between  Belzyc 
and  Pulawy,  presents  a  shorter  and  more  direct 
route  to  Lublin.  This  road  had  not  been  occu- 
pied by  the  enemy.  Colonel  Lagowski,  who 
commanded  this  detachment,  had  instructions  to 
follow  out  this  road,  and  to  keep  up  a  constant 
communication  with  the  superior  force  under  gen- 
eral Dwernicki.  He  was  ordered  to  keep  himself 
constantly  abreast  of  the  enemy  {d).  At  the  mo- 
ment that  he  should  hear  the  fire  of  our  cannon, 
he  was  directed  to  hasten  to  the  attack  of  the  ene- 
my on  his  left  wing,  or  on  his  rear,  as  circumstan- 
ces might  direct.  This  manoeuvre  was  executed 
with  the  utmost  punctuality.  The  enemy  pressed 
in  upon  the  causeway  by  the  larger  body  under 
Dwernicki,  and  thus  forced  to  give  battle,  took  a 
position  upon  the  heights  of  the  town  of  Kurow, 
in  doing  which,  his  consternation  or  his  inconsid- 
erateness  was  such,  that  he  neglected  the  ordinary 
means  of  security,  and  did  not  occupy  the  roads 
which  centre  at  that  place,  not  even  that  which  it 
was  of  the  utmost  importance  for  him  to  occupy, 
—  the  one  which  leads  from  Belzyc  to  Pulawy ; 


200  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

in  fact,  he  had  even  neglected  to  send  out  recon- 
noissances  on  any  side,  supposing  that  our  entire 
force  was  before  him  on  the  causeway.  This 
battle  commenced  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2d  of 
March,  and  continued  only  a  few  hours. 

General  Dwernicki,  after  reconnoitering  the 
enemy's  position,  which  was  commanding,  and 
strengthened  in  its  front  by  sixteen  pieces  of  can- 
non \_{f)i  PI'  XV,]  thought  it  expedient  to  com- 
mence with  a  fire  of  skirmishers  only  (a),  under 
cover  of  which  he  manoeuvred  his  cavalry  (6)  upon 
the  Russian  wings,  with  the  sole  purpose  of  occu- 
pying the  attention  of  the  enemy  until  the  detach- 
ment of  colonel  Lagowski  should  make  its  appear- 
ance. The  enemy,  on  the  other  hand,  commenced 
a  warm  fire  from  his  artillery,  and  threw  forward 
his  light  troops  (d)  in  every  direction.  Some 
hours  passed  in  this  manner,  the  enemy  attempting 
from  time  to  time  to  force  our  position.  But  the 
hour  of  his  destruction  was  approaching.  General 
Dwernicki  perceiving,  from  an  elevation  of  ground, 
the  detachment  of  Lagowski  (A)  advancing  upon 
the  enemy's  rear,  instantaneously  gave  orders  for 
the  cavalry  to  concentrate  themselves.  The  sig- 
nal for  advance  was  then  given,  and  the  cavalry 
having  formed  on  each  side  of  the  main  road, 
pressed  forward  and  fell  upon  the  centre  of  the 
enemy.  At  the  same  moment,  a  charge  was  made 
by  the  cavalry  of  Lagowski  upon  the  enemy's  rear. 
The  disorder  and  consternation  of  the  Russian 
forces  was  indescribable.     In  a  moment  ten  pieces 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  201 

of  cannon,  a  thousand  prisoners,  some  hundreds  of 
horses,  with  many  wagons  of  ammunition  and 
baggage,  fell  into  our  hands.  The  route  was  gen- 
eral. The  enemy  fled  pell-mell,  and  his  loss  was 
much  increased  by  a  fire  of  grape  from  the  two 
pieces  of  artillery  of  colonel  Lagowski,  which  he 
placed  by  the  side  of  the  road  from  Kurow  to  Lub- 
lin, over  which  the  Russians  retreated.  This  road 
was  literally  covered  with  dead.  Nothing  but  the 
coming  on  of  night  saved  the  enemy  from  en- 
tire destruction.  After  this  battle,  the  forces  of 
the  prince  of  Wirtemberg  ceased  to  act  as  a  corps. 
What  remained  of  them,  took  the  direction  of 
Lublin,  where  the  corps  of  general  Dwernicki 
arrived  the  next  day,  having  taken  prisoners  during 
the  whole  route.  The  prince  of  Wirtemberg  bare- 
ly escaped  from  our  hands,  for  he  was  in  quarters 
in  that  city  when  our  advanced  detachments  en- 
tered it,  and  was  just  able  to  save  himself  by 
flight.  Such  was  the  end  of  this  Russian  corps, 
which,  when  it  began  to  act  against  Dwernicki 
with  his  small  force  of  3,000  men,  and  ten  pieces 
of  cannon,  consisted  of  15,000  infantry  and  24 
pieces  of  cannon.  In  the  course  of  eleven  days, 
general  Dwernicki  gave  battle  to  this  corps  four 
several  times,  viz.  at  Swierza,  Nowawies,  Pulawy, 
and  Kurow  ;  and  besides  the  loss  he  caused  them 
in  killed  and  wounded,  he  took  8,000  prisoners, 
19  pieces  of  cannon,  besides  1,000  horses,  with  a 
great  quantity  of  ammunition,  baggage,  &c.  In 
all  these  actions  the  corps  of  general  Dwernicki 


202  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

lost  but  500  men,  in  killed  and  wounded.  The 
panic  which  had  began  to  prevail  in  the  Russian 
forces,  in  consequence  of  these  disasters,  reached 
such  a  degree  that,  at  times,  the  mere  sight  of  our 
troops  was  sufficient  to  put  them  to  flight.  The 
Russian  commander  in  chief  deprived  the  prince 
of  Wirtemberg  of  his  post,  and  his  name  was  not 
heard  of  during  the  rest  of  the  war. 

General  Dwernicki,  by  his  victories  over  this 
corps,  had  completely  freed  the  department  of 
Lublin  from  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  On  ar- 
riving at  Lublin,  he  restored  the  authority  of  the 
National  Government  in  that  place,  and  the  region 
about.  He  made  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
reinforcing  his  corps,  and  left  for  Krasnystaw,  in 
the  environs  of  Zamosc. 

While  these  successful  operations  of  general 
Dwernicki,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  kingdom, 
were  in  progress,  and  by  this  series  of  victories, 
he  was  approaching  the  frontiers  of  Wolhynia  and 
Podolia,  our  arms  were  not  less  successful  in  the 
North. 

The  brave  colonel  Valentin,  with  a  small  de- 
tachment of  partizans,  fought  the  enemy  with  suc- 
cess between  Modlin  and  Pultusk.  This  detach- 
ment was  thrown  into  that  region,  (acting,  how- 
ever, more  particularly  between  the  rivers  Wkra 
and  Orsyca,)  in  order  to  hold  in  check  the  opera- 
tions of  the  enemy  upon  Plock.  This  detachment 
was  to  obtain  succor,  in  case  of  necessity,  from  the 
garrisons  of  Modlin.     It  was  especially  destined 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  203 

to  intercept  the  transports  which  were  to  come 
from  Prussia  upon  the  road  to  Mlara,  for  the  relief 
of  the  Russian  army. 

Colonel  Valentin  was  occupying  with  his  de- 
tachment the  forest  near  the  town  of  Nasielsk, 
when  he  was  apprised  that  a  small  body  of  Rus- 
sian troops,  under  the  order  of  colonel  Schindler, 
consisting  of  two  regiments  of  cavalry,  a  battalion 
of  infantry,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon,  had  arrived 
on  the  3d  of  March,  at  that  town.  This  detach- 
ment had  been  sent  to  protect  a  transport  which 
was  to  pass  there.  Colonel  Valentin  immediately 
formed  a  plan  to  attack  it.  During  the  night  of 
the  3d  and  4th  of  March,  he  approached  the  town, 
invested  it,  and  ordered  an  attack,  in  which  the  de- 
tachment surprised  the  enemy,  and  forced  him  to 
quit  the  city,  leaving  his  two  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
a  number  of  prisoners.  Colonel  Valentin,  thinking 
that  the  Russians  might  possibly  return  with  a  su- 
perior force,  evacuated  the  city,  and  took  his  pris- 
oners to  Modlin,  in  order,  by  disembarrasing  him- 
self of  them,  to  hasten  his  march  and  reach  the 
environs  of  Pultusk,  in  time  to  intercept  the  trans- 
port. On  the  5th,  he  took  this  transport,  consist- 
ing of  eighty  vehicles  loaded  with  various  kinds 
of  provision,  together  with  twelve  loads  of  equi- 
page, &c,  for  the  Russian  generals,  which  he  sent 
to  Warsaw.  The  detachment  of  colonel  Valentin 
continued  to  manoeuvre  for  a  long  while  in  those 
environs  without  any  support. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw,  along  the  banks  of 


204  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

the  Vistula,  both  above  and  below  the  city,  small 
skirmishes  almost  daily  occurred.  On  the  fourth 
of  March,  the  brave  lieutenant  Berowski,  passing 
the  Vistula  opposite  Jablonna  with  his  platoon, 
surprised  a  squadron  of  cossacks,  and  took  a  hun- 
dred prisoners  and  as  many  horses.  The  battalion 
of  volunteer  chasseurs  of  colonel  Grotus,  posted 
in  the  environs  of  the  villages  Siekierki,  and 
Wilanow,  brought  in,  almost  every  day,  parties  of 
Russian  prisoners,  by  suprising  the  different  de- 
tachments of  the  enemy  placed  upon  the  island  of 
Saxe,  opposite  to  the  above  mentioned  places. 
This  same  battalion  burnt  two  batteaux,  in  which 
were  a  party  of  Russian  troops,  who  were  sent 
during  the  night  with  combustibles  to  burn  the 
bridge  between  Warsaw  and  Praga.  These  boats 
were  sunk,  and  the  Russians  who  escaped  drown- 
ing, were  taken  prisoners.  In  the  environs  of  the 
small  town  of  Gora,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Warsaw,  a  considerable  body  of  workmen  who 
were  sent  by  the  enemy  to  prepare  the  materials 
for  building  a  bridge,  were  surprised  by  a  battalion 
of  the  2d  regiment  of  light  infantry.  A  hundred 
pioneers  and  sappers  were  taken  prisoners,  and 
many  hundred  male  and  female  peasants  set  at 
liberty,  who  had  been  forced  to  work  for  the 
enemy. 

At  about  the  8th  of  March,  marshal  Diebitsch 
demanded  the  capitulation  of  the  fortress  of  Mod- 
lin,  for  which  object  he  despatched  colonel  Kil. 
This  officer  was  entrusted  with   a  letter  to  the 


THJE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  205 

count  Leduchowski,  written  by  the  marshal's  own 
hand.     His  proposition  was  rejected.* 

*  The  reader  will  perhaps  be  gratified  with  a  short  topa- 
graphical  description  of  this  fortress,  and  some  details  of  this 
affair.  The  fortress  of  Modlin,  which  is  in  a  pentagonal 
form,  is  situated  sixteen  miles  from  Warsaw,  upon  the  right 
bank  of  the  Vistula,  at  the  junction  of  the  Narew  with  the 
former  river.  Not  far  from  this  fortress,  the  small  river 
VTkra  also  joins  the  JVarew.  The  fortress  is  thus  situated 
between  three  rivers.  In  addition  to  this  peculiarity  of  its 
situation  in  regard  to  the  rivers,  its  commanding  elevation 
makes  it  a  point  of  great  strength.  Opposite  to  it  is  the 
small  town  of  Nowy-dwor,  but  this  town  is  so  low  that  it  is 
commanded  by  the  fortress,  and  it  is  besides  too  distant  for 
the  erection  of  batteries  by  which  the  latter  could  be  bom- 
barded with  success.  This  post  is  very  important  in  regard 
to  tactics,  and  it  is  a  key  of  position,  to  protect,  or  to  act 
upon,  all  operations  between  the  Narew  and  the  Vistula. 
Marshal  Diebitsch  considering  these  circumstances,  and 
seeing  that  an  open  attack  was  scarcely  possible,  was  led  to 
attempt  negotiation.  The  letter  sent  by  the  marshal,  was 
full  of  flattering  language  in  regard  to  the  heroism  of  the 
Polish  army.  He  permitted  himself,  however,  to  say  that  it 
was  to  be  regretted  that  such  a  degree  of  heroism  was  not 
exhibited  in  abetter  cause  —  that  the  brave  Polish  army  was 
made  a  sacrifice  of,  by  some  ambitious  and  opinionated  men, 
who  had  forgotten  their  duties  to  their  monarch,  and  their 
oaths  of  fidelity.  From  such  men  as  those,  he  wished  to 
distinguish  the  count  Leduchowski,  for  whom  he  had  the 
highest  esteem,  and  who,  he  was  convinced,  had  no  desire  to 
continue  a  useless  expenditure  of  blood,  and  would  willingly 
surrender  the  fortress  to  the  troops  of  his  legitimate  mon- 
arch. To  all  this,  marshal  Diebitsch  added  the  assurance 
that  the  fortress  should  be  garrisoned  by  equal  bodies  of 
Russian  and  Polish  troops.  Colonel  Leduchowski  made  a 
reply  to  this  complimentary  communication  in  nearly  the 
following  terms  :  — '  Marshal,  to  your  letter,  in  which  you 
have  chosen  to  flatter  the  valor  of  my  countrymen,  and  in 
which  you  have  honored  me,  in  particular,  with  your  atten- 
tions, I  have  the  honor  to  answer,  that  I  cannot  better  de- 
serve your  good  opinion,  than  in  defending,  with  my  com- 
patriots, our  beloved  country  to  the  last  drop  of  my  blood. 
This  is  the  course  which  the  honor  of  each  brave  Pole  dic- 
tates to  him.' 

26 


*^  206  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Some  days  after  this  answer,  a  part  of  the  gar- 
rison of  this  fortress,  sent  as  a  reinforcement  to 
colonel  Valentin,  surprised  the  Russians  in  the 
town  of  Serock.  They  had  passed  the  river  Bug, 
and  the  Narew  opposite  that  town,  to  make  requi- 
sitions of  forage  in  the  country  around.  By  a 
prompt  arrangement,  the  batteaux  of  the  enemy 
were  taken  by  our  troops  ;  and  his  forces,  suddenly 
attacked  and  defeated,  were  compelled  to  evacuate 
their  position,  leaving  a  thousand  prisoners  in  our 
hands,  which  were  immediately  carried  to  Modlin, 
and  thence  to  Warsaw. 

In  this  state  of  things,  and  while  circumstances 
were  continually  occurring  with  uniform  advantage 
to  the  Polish  arms,  general  Skrzynecki,  with  the 
most  sincere  wish  to  finish  a  bloody  struggle,  and 
anxious  to  show  that  the  Poles  were  always  ready 
to  hold  out  the  hand  of  reconciliation,  wrote,  with 
the  permission  of  the  provisional  government,  a 
communication  to  marshal  Diebitsch,  with  propo- 
sitions of  that  purport.  But  as  these  offers  of 
conciliation  were  rejected  by  the  marshal,  the  con- 
test was  recommenced.* 
« 
*  This  letter,  written  at  the  moment  when  our  army  was 
victorious,  and  when  a  revokition,  ready  to  break  out  in  all 
the  Polish  provinces  attached  to  Russia,  made  the  position 
of  the  Russian  army  extremely  dangerous,  was  couched  in 
most  conciliatory  terms,  having  for  its  sole  object  the  termi- 
nation of  a  fraternal  struggle.  In  this  letter,  the  general- 
issimo sought  to  convince  marshal  Diebitsch,  that  this  was 
not  a  war  undertaken  on  our  part  at  the  instigation  of  a  few 
individuals,  but  that  it  was  espoused  by  the  whole  nation,  and 
that  the  people  were  forced  to  take  up  arms  by  the  enormity 
of  those    acts  of  tyranny,  which  were  not  perhaps  even 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  207 

On  the  10th  of  March,  the  operations  of  the 
campaign  were  recommenced.  The  2d  division, 
the  command  of  which,  after  the  death  of  general 
Zimirski,  was  given  to  general  Gielgud,  and  a  di- 
vision of  cavalry,  under  the  command  of  general 
Jankowski,  received  orders  to  make  a  strong  re- 
connoissance  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula. 
This  division  was  ordered  to  pass  the  bridge  in  the 
night,  and  at  break  of  day  to  commence  the  attack 
upon  whatever  force  of  the  enemy  they  might  find 
on  the  plains  of  Grochow  or  Kawenczyn,  and,  by 
this  manoeuvre,  to  harass  the  right  wing  of  the 
enemy.  But  general  Jankowski  arrived  late.  It 
was  near  eight  o'clock,  A.  M.  before  he  approached 
with  his  division,  at  which  time  the  two  divisions 
united  left  Praga  to  commence  their  attack,  but 
this  operation  being  thus  retarded,  could  not  be 
made  effective.  The  enemy,  seeing  our  move- 
known  to  the  monarch.  He  urged  him  to  consider  the  amount 
of  blood  which  had  been  already  shed,  and  the  indefinite 
prolongation  to  which  such  a  struggle  might  be  extended. 
He  urged  him  also,  to  make  known  these  representations  to 
the  monarch,  and  to  invite  him  to  lay  aside  all  enmity,  to 
visit  and  hear  in  person  the  complaints  of  the  nation,  who 
would  receive  him  with  sincerity,  and  who  demanded  of  him 
only  the  confirmation  and  observance  of  the  rights  granted 
by  the  constitution,  and  the  extension  of  the  same  rights  to 
our  brethren  in  the  Russo-Polish  provinces.  What  an  op- 
portunity was  here  presented  to  the  Emperor  Nicholas  to 
act  with  magnanimity,  and  to  extend  a  conciliatory  hand  to 
the  Polish  nation  !  Those  letters  will  be  an  eternal  testi- 
mony, that  the  Poles  attempted  every  amicable  means,  to 
establish  upon  an  equal  basis  their  own  happiness  and  civ- 
ilization, and  that  of  the  whole  north,  and  that  all  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  bloody  struggle  which  was  continued, 
rests  on  the  side  of  despotism. 


208"  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

ment,  had  time  to  prepare  themselves  to  counter- 
act it.     Oar  forces  having  advanced  a  mile  or  two 
upon  the  main  road,  commenced  a  fire  of  tirail- 
leurs, and  the  enemy  began  to  retire.     As  it  was 
designed  to  act  upon  Kawenczyn,  a  battalion  was 
sent  to  attempt  an  attack  on  the  forest  of  elders, 
well  known  to  the  reader ;  but  as  the  enemy  was 
quite  strong  at  that  point,  and  particularly  in  artil- 
lery, a  fire  from  which  was  immediately  opened 
upon  our  force,  the  attack  was  not  made,  and  our 
battalion  was  ordered  to  withdraw.     The  Russians, 
at  about  mid-day,  began  to  show  a  stronger  force 
upon   the  plains  of  Wawr.     Their  artillery,  also, 
opened  a  fire  upon  the  main  road.     This  fire  had 
continued  an  hour,  when  our  generals,  not  per- 
ceiving that  the  artillery  was  protected  by  cavalry, 
decided    to  make  a   charge  upon  them  with  the 
regiment  of  Mazurs,  and  the  3d  regiment  of  light 
cavalry.     This  brigade  of  cavalry,  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  brave  colonels  Blendowski  and  Miller, 
threw  themselves  with  courage  upon  that  artillery, 
when,  at  the  moment  of  the  charge,  two  regiments 
of  Attaman  Cossacks,  which   were  posted   in    a 
wood  adjoining,  displayed  their  front,  and  advanc- 
ed to  charge  our  cavalry  upon  the  flank  and  rear. 
Our  attack  therefore  failed,  and  it  was  owing  to 
good  fortune  alone  that  by  a  rapid  bending  of  our 
flank,  this  body  of  cavalry  was  saved  from  total 
ruin.     This  unfortunate  affair  cost  us  a  heavy  loss 
of  men,  and  of  both  of  the  brave  colonels  who 
commanded  the  attack.     At  about  2,  P.  M.  as  the 
enemy    began  to    debouch  from  the  great   forest 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  209 

with  increased  forces,  it  was  decided  to  return 
to  Warsaw,  and  thus  ended  this  reconnoissance, 
which  had  it  been  executed  by  more  skilful  gen- 
erals, might  have  had  the  best  success,  for  all  the 
Russian  regiments  which  had  advanced  towards 
Praga,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  their  main 
forces,  might  have  been  taken.  A  reprimand  was 
publicly  given  to  the  two  generals,  Gielgud  and 
Jankowski,  for  their  remissness  in  executing  their 
instructions.  The  only  advantage  which  was 
gained  by  this  reconnoissance,  was  the  taking  of  a 
great  quantity  of  fascines  and  other  materials  pre- 
pared for  a  storm  of  Praga,  and  the  collection  from 
off  the  field  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  arms, 
which  had  been  left  there  by  the  enemy,  after  the 
battle  of  the  25th.^ 

*  The  following  particulars  will  demonstrate  to  the  reader 
how  much  even  the  enemy  appreciated  Polish  courage  and 
devotedness.  After  this  affair,  our  generalissimo,  regretting 
much  the  loss  of  the  brave  colonel  Blendowski,  who  had 
fallen  in  his  wounded  state  into  the  enemy's  hands,  sent  a 
flag  to  general  Giesmar,  the  commander  of  the  Russian 
advanced  guard,  to  propose  an  exchange,  if  colonel  Blen- 
dowski was  still  living,  and  if  dead,  to  request  that  his  body 
might  be  given  up.  At  the  moment  that  the  officer  bearing 
the  flag,  with  a  party  of  lancers,  arrived  at  the  Russian 
quarters,  he  saw  a  body  of  Russians  with  general  Giesmar, 
and  his  suite  at  their  side,  bearing  a  wounded  officer,  and 
advancing  towards  them.  Our  officer,  as  they  approached, 
recognized  colonel  Blendowski  in  the  wounded  officer,  and 
announced  to  general  Giesmar  that  it  was  to  obtain  him 
that  he  had  been  sent.  On  receiving  this  communication, 
general  Giesmar  replied,  *  You  see,  sir,  that  I  had  antici- 
pated your  object.  Make  my  intentions  known  to  your 
commander,  and  let  him  know  how  much  I  honor  PoHsh 
heroism.'  This  general  took  part,  with  his  own  hand,  in 
all  the  arrangements  for  transferring  the  wounded  officer, 
and  two  of  his  suite  were  among  those  who  bore  his  body. 


210  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  Russian  commander  having,  as  the  reader 
is  aware,  lost  nearly  the  whole  of  the  corps  of  the 
prince  Wirtemberg,  the  remnants  of  which  was 
dispersed  and  had  wholly  ceased  active  operations, 
sent  against  general  Dwernicki  the  corps  of  gen- 
eral Witt,  composed  of  8,000  infantry,  2,000 
cavalry,  and  16  pieces  of  cannon.  This  corps  ar- 
rived on  the  11th  at  Lublin,  in  which  town  was  a 
small  detachment  of  Dwernicki's  corps,  command- 
ed by  the  colonel  Russyian.  This  small  detach- 
ment, having  only  barricaded  a  few  streets,  de- 
fended with  much  firmness  the  passage  of  the 
small  river  Bystrzyca,  and  left  the  city  at  night- 
fall to  rejoin  its  corps,  which  was  in  the  environs 
of  Zamosc. 

Again  the  corps  of  the  Russian  guard,  which  had 
recently  arrived,  under  the  command  of  prince 
Michael,  consisting  of  16,000  infantry,  4,000  cav- 
alry, and  36  pieces  of  cannon,  a  division  of  cavalry, 
with  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  was  sent  into  the 
environs  of  Pultusk,  commanded  by  general  Umin- 
ski,  who  was  to  take  under  his  command  the  de- 
tachment of  colonel  Valentin,  and  acting  in  concert 
with  the  garrison  of  Modlin,  he  was  to  occupy  the 
attention  of  the  enemy,  in  order  that  our  main  body 
should  not  be  disturbed  in  the  offensive  operations 
which  general  Skrzynecki  had  decided  to  adopt. 

General  Uminski  arriving  with  his  corps,  met 
an  advanced  detachment  of  the  Russian  guard  in 
the  environs  of  Makow,  composed  of  two  regiments 
of  hussars  and  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  who  were 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  211 

sent  forward  as  a  party  of  observation  in  that  vi- 
cinity. This  vras  the  first  encounter  v^ith  this 
celebrated  guard.  Our  cavalry  waited  impatiently 
for  the  moment  to  try  their  strength  with  them. 
Two  young  regiments,  one  a  regiment  of  Krakus 
of  Podlasia,  and  the  other  the  5th  Hulans,  en- 
treated their  general  to  be  permitted  to  make  the 
charge.  General  Uminski  observing  that  there 
was  no  stronger  force  near,  ordered  an  immediate 
attack. 

Our  cavalry,  on  receiving  the  order,  did  not  even 
give  the  enemy  time  to  display  his  front,  or  to  make 
use  of  his  artillery  ;  but  rushed  upon  him  with  an 
impetuous  charge,  under  which  he  was  at  once 
borne  down.  Of  one  regiment  of  those  hussars 
nearly  a  squadron  were  taken  prisoners.  This 
Russian  cavalry,  which  were  in  full  rout,  were 
pursued  as  far  as  the  environs  of  Magnuszewo. 
The  enemy  was  not  permitted  to  take  position, 
and  the  pursuit  was  pressed  with  such  rapidity, 
that  they  had  not  time  to  destroy  the  bridge  which 
crosses  the  river  Orsyca,  but  were  followed  even 
to  the  environs  of  Rozany,  where  they  reached  the 
position  of  their  main  body.  General  Uminski,  in 
order  not  to  expose  his  force  to  the  observation  of 
the  enemy,  halted  in  an  advantageous  position  in 
the  forests  near  Rozany,  and  from  this  position  he 
continued  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check.  In  fact, 
by  harassing  and  wearying  the  enemy  with  contin- 
ual attacks,  he  at  length  forced  the  prince  Michael 
to  quit  Rozany,  taking  the  direction  of  Ostrolenka. 


212  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

General  Uminski  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  the 
brigade  of  cavalry  under  the  command  of  colonel 
Dembinski.  This  brigade,  opposite  Ostrolenka 
upon  the  Narew,  had  on  the  26th  of  March  an 
advantageous  affair  with  the  advanced  guard  of  the 
enemy,  in  vi^hich  forty  prisoners  were  taken.  By 
closely  observing  the  enemy  in  this  manner,  it  was 
ascertained  that  the  Russian  guard,  after  destroy- 
ing the  bridge,  had  completely  evacuated  Ostro- 
lenka. It  was  evident  that  the  design  of  prince 
Michael,  in  this  sudden  evacuation  of  Ostrolenka, 
_  was  to  join  himself  to  the  grand  army.  General 
Uminski  immediately  sent  an  officer  to  inform  the 
commander  in  chief  of  this  movement,  continuing 
in  the  mean  time  in  the  position  which  he  had 
taken  before  Ostrolenka. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Plan  of  general  Skrzynecki  to  act  upon  the  isolated  corps  of  Rosen  and 
Giesmar. — Battle  of  W^^wr. — Various  detachments  of  the  enemy  are 
taken  after  that  battle^  and  a  great  number  of  prisoners. — Battle  of 
Dembe-Wielke. — Destiyctive  pursuit  of  the  enemy  by  our  cavalry. — 
View  of  the  Russian  losses  in  the  preceding  days. — Marshal  Diebitsch 
abandons  his  plan  of  crossing  the  Vistula,  and  marches  to  the  rescue 
of  the  remains  of  the  corps  of  Rosen  and  Giesmar,  and  the  Imperial 
Guard. — View  of  the  position  of  the  two  armies,  alter  the  second  re- 
pulse of  the  enemy  from  before  Warsaw. — Operations  of  general 
Dwernicki. — Successes  of  a  reconnoissance  under  colonel  Russyian 
at  Uscilog. — Effect  of  Dwernicki's  victories  on  the  inhabitants  of  the 
provinces.  —  Acknowledgment  of  general  Dwernicki's  services  by 
the  National  Government. — The  instructions  for  his  future  operations. 

The  news  of  this  prompt  and  sudden  evacuation  ^ 
of  Ostrolenka  by  the  Russian  guard,  and  the  evi- 
dent intention  of  the  Grand  Duke  Michael  to  dis- 
continue his  operations  in  the  palatinate  of  Plock, 
and  to  make  a  junction  with  the  grand  army,  as 
well  as  other  certain  intelligence  that  marshal 
Diebitsch  had  withdrawn  the  main  body  of  his 
forces,  [See  (A)  Plan  XVI,]  and  had  left  only  a 
corps  of  observation,  composed  of  the  two  corps  of 
Rosen  and  Giesmar  (B),  in  the  environs  of  Wawr 
and  Milosna,  determined  our  generalissimo  to 
hasten  to  the  execution  of  the  plan,  for  a  long 
time  decided  upon,  which  was  to  throw  himself 
with  his  whole  force  upon  the  nearest  Russian 
corps,  and  to  crush  them  before  marshal  Diebitsch 
could  come  to  their  succor. 

On   the  29th   and  30th,    our   general  in   chief 
made  a  review  of  the  greater  part  of  the   army. 
All  the  troops  received  him  with  expressions  of  the 
27 


214  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

greatest  enthusiasm.  He  could  not  but  be  de- 
lighted at  the  sight  of  that  fine  and  energetic  force, 
and  be  confident  of  the  most  brilliant  successes. 
All  the  troops  defiled  before  the  general,  carrying 
with  them  the  trophies  which  they  had  taken  from 
the  enemy ;  and  each  platoon,  as  they  passed, 
hailed  him  with  some  patriotic  exclamation,  and 
pledged  themselves  that  they  w^ould  never  return 
without  having  satisfied  his  orders  to  the  utmost. 
On  the  night  of  that  day,  the  commanders  of  the 
several  divisions  received  the  order  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  warn- 
ing. 


BATTLE  OF  WAWR.     [See  Plan  XVIL] 

On  the  evening  of  the  30th,  the  two  divisions 
of  infantry  under  Rybinski  and  Gielgud,  and  the 
brigade  of  cavalry  under  Kicki,  received  orders  to 
pass  from  Warsaw  to  Praga.  That  force  quitted 
Warsaw  at  ten  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Whilst  the  division  of  Gielgud  and  the  cavalry 
of  Kicki  were  to  occupy  the  great  road  (g)  leading 
to  Grochow,  the  1st  division  under  Rybinski  was 
to  march  upon  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy  at 
Kawenczyn  (K).  This  last  division  was  to  drive 
the  enemy  from  his  position  in  as  short  a  time  as 
possible.  If  the  enemy's  forces  at  Kawenczyn  were 
found  to  be  greatly  superior  to  his  own,  general 
Rybinski  was  directed  to    continue  his  fire,  and 


E¥7: 


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(  ( r  f'  r  c ! 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  215 

await  a  reinforcement,  which  should  be  immedi- 
ately sent  to  him.  If  he  should  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  take  Kawenczyn,  general  Rjbinski  was  to 
send,  by  a  small  road  (/)  leading  from  this  place, 
through  the  forest,  to  Milosna,  a  few  battalions 
(m)  to  that  village.  Other  battalions  (d)  were  to 
be  dispersed  in  the  forest,  between  that  small  road 
and  the  main  road.  Having  made  those  arrange- 
ments, the  position  of  Kawenczyn  w^as  to  be  vigor- 
ously defended,  in  order  to  baffle  every  effort  of 
the  enemy  to  retake  it.  The  accurate  and  prompt 
execution  of  this  plan  was  expected  to  effect  the 
cutting  off  of  all  the  enemy's  forces,  which  were 
to  be  found  upon  the  field  of  Wawr.  In  regard  to 
the  division  of  Gielgud  upon  the  main  road,  the 
instructions  given  were  that  it  should  not  com- 
mence its  fire  until  apprised  of  general  Rybinski's 
having  gained  possession  of  Kawenczyn.  This 
division  was  till  then  to  limit  its  attention  to  the 
object  of  retaining  the  enemy  in  his  position  near 
Praga,  long  enough  to  give  time  for  the  corps  of 
general  Rybinski  to  occupy  the  above  mentioned 
forest,  and  to  operate  in  the  enemy's  rear.  The 
moment  for  the  advance  of  the  2d  division,  was  to 
be,  when  the  fire  of  the  light  troops  of  Rybinski 
should  be  heard  in  the  forest. 

All  these  dispositions  were  executed  with  the 
greatest  exactitude  under  the  protection  of  a  thick 
fog.  The  division  of  general  Rybinski  having 
quitted  Praga  at  midnight,  arrived  as  far  as  the 
environs  of  Kawenczyn,  without  being  in  the  least 


216  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

disturbed  by  the  enemy.  This  skilful  general  had 
the  precaution  not  to  attack  the  enemy  until  an 
hour  before  day-break ;  in  the  interval,  while  rest- 
ing in  the  woody  ground  near  Kawenczyn,  he  sent 
forward  a  patrol,  with  directions  to  approach  near 
enough  to  ascertain,  as  far  as  practicable,  the 
position,  the  strength,  and  the  nature  of  the  force 
of  the  enemy,  and  sent  another  patrol  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  forest  of  elders  to  reconnoitre  the 
enemy  there.  Those  patrols  returned  with  the 
intelligence  that  the  enemy's  force  could  not  be 
great,  as  they  could  perceive  no  large  detachments 
placed  as  advanced  posts.  It  was  between  five 
and  six  in  the  morning,  when  the  first  fire  of  gen- 
eral Rybinski,  at  Kawenczyn,  gave  notice  to  the 
2d  division  of  Gielgud,  at  Praga,  that  it  was  the 
time  to  advance.  The  brigade  of  cavalry  under 
Kicki,  (6),  with  the  2d  and  7th  regiments  of 
lancers,  having  with  them  three  pieces  of  cannon, 
spread  out  their  flankers,  and  advanced  slowly, 
directed  continually  by  the  fire  of  general  Rybin- 
ski, who  in  the  mean  time  had  pushed  two  battal- 
ions at  the  charge,  supported  by  a  few  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, and  had  carried  the  enemy's  position  by  storm, 
and  taken  possession  of  Kawenczyn.  The  enemy 
were  instantly  routed  by  this  impetuous  attack, 
and  lost  three  pieces  of  cannon.  The  division 
passed  through  Kawenczyn,  sent  two  battalions  (m) 
to  Milosna,  occupied  the  forest  (A)  in  the  rear  of 
the  enemy's  principal  force,  and  commenced  a  fire. 
When  this  fire  was  heard  by  our  forces  (B)  upon 


J^  - 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  217 

the  main  road,  they  pushed  forward,  and  a  general 
and  rapid  advance  was  commenced  under  cover  of 
the  thick  fog.  Two  regiments  of  cossack  cavalry, 
(h),  who  were  posted  in  columns  near  the  Obelisk 
of  Iron,  were  borne  down  before  them.  A  great 
number  of  prisoners  were  taken  on  the  spot.  Our 
brave  lancers,  under  Kicki,  animated  by  this  suc- 
cess, did  not  halt  in  their  attack.  They  fell  upon 
an  advanced  post  of  Russian  artillery  of  three 
pieces  (/)  near  Grochow,  and  took  them  before 
they  had  time  to  fire.  By  seven  or  eight  o'clock, 
the  enemy  was  entirely  surrounded,  and  his  retreat 
by  Milosna  was  wholly  cut  off.  It  was  with  the 
dissipation  of  the  fog  that  we  witnessed  the  con- 
fusion into  which  had  been  thrown  the  whole  ad- 
vanced guard  of  Giesmar,  composed  of  four  regi- 
ments or  sixteen  battalions  of  infantry  (a),  eight 
squadrons  of  cavalry  (h),  and  twenty-four  pieces  of 
cannon  (/).  The  disorder  of  this  advanced  guard 
was  such,  that  the  Russian  battalions  had  actually 
been  firing  against  each  other,  and  that  fire  ceased 
only  with  the  clearing  up  of  the  fog.  The  95th 
and  96th  Russian  regiments,  amounting  to  5,000 
men,  with  all  their  officers  and  colors,  were  taken 
in  a  body,  and  with  them  the  brigadier  general 
Lewandowski.  If  the  fog  had  continued  half  an 
hour  longer,  so  that  we  could  have  occupied  the 
road  to  Karczew,  the  whole  of  this  advanced 
guard  would  have  been  taken ;  for  what  remained 
of  them  saved  themselves  only  by  fliying  along  that 
road. 


218  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

This  attack,  which  was  the  business  of  a  few 
hours,  forced  the  enemy  to  quit  his  advantageous 
position  in  the  commanding  forest,  between  Wawr 
and  Milosna,  which  he  had  occupied  for  a  month, 
and  on  which  he  had  constructed  considerable  for- 
tifications. Driven  from  this  important  position, 
he  could  only  expect  to  be  subjected  to  still  greater 
losses.  At  Milosna  (3),  three  battalions  of  the 
enemy,  with  four  pieces  of  cannon,  placed  as  an 
isolated  detachment,  were  dispersed,  and  their 
cannon  taken.  Another  isolated  detachment  of 
cavalry  of  hussars  and  cossacks  of  Czarno-morskie, 
posted  at  Janowek,  met  the  same  fate,  and  prison- 
ers were  taken  in  every  direction.  Our  two  di- 
visions pursued  the  enemy  with  unremitted  celer- 
ity, and,  followed  by  our  main  forces,  reached 
Dembe-Wielke,  at  which  place  was  the  corps  of 
general  Rosen,  composed  of  about  30,000  men 
and  40  pieces  of  cannon. 

BATTLE   OF   DEMBE-WIELKE.     [See  Plate  XVIII.] 

As  the  enemy  occupied  the  heights  (D)  of 
Dembe-Wielke,  on  the  side  of  the  marsh  opposite 
to  our  forces,  which,  to  attack  him,  would  have 
had  to  traverse  the  dyke  (k)  constructed  over  this 
marsh,  — the  commanders  of  the  two  divisions  con- 
sidered it  expedient  to  await  the  arrival  of  our 
whole  force,  which  approached  some  hours  after. 
General  Skrzynecki,  satisfied  that  an  attack  made, 
over  the  dyke,  upon  the  commanding  position  of 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  219 

the  enemy  on  the  other  side,  in  broad  day,  would 
cost  too  great  a  sacrifice  of  men,  determined  to 
amuse  him  by  a  constant  fire  of  our  skirmishers  (a). 
who  advanced  as  far  as  the  marshy  ground  which 
divided  the  two  armies  would  permit.  A  little 
before  night,  the  general  in  chief  ordered  all  the 
cavalry  (6)  to  be  brought  together,  and  formed  in 
columns  of  attack,  with  the  two  squadrons  of  car- 
biniers, under  the  brave  colonel  Sznayder,  at  their 
head.  At  the  approach  of  twilight,  he  ordered 
these  columns  to  pass  the  dyke  on  a  trot,  and  to 
throw  themselves  upon  the  enemy  on  the  right  and 
left,  attacking  with  the  sabre. 

While  the  cavalry  was  passing  the  dyke,  the 
artillery  (c)  was  to  open  a  general  fire,  ceasing, 
however,  when  the  passage  of  the  dyke  should  be 
effected. 

The  order  was  given,  and  this  mass  of  cavalry, 
under  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  raised  the  hurrah, 
and  passed  the  dyke  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning, 
followed  by  our  infantry,  having  at  their  head  the 
brave  4th  regiment.  The  enemy  was  in  such 
consternation  that  he  was  not  in  a  state  to  make 
a  defence,  and  his  whole  battery  was  overthrown. 
Full  three  thousand  prisoners  were  taken,  together 
with  the  entire  battery,  consisting  of  twelve  pieces 
of  cannon  of  large  calibre,  some  fifty  voitures  of 
different  kinds,  as  caissons  of  ammunition,  bag- 
gage-wagons, &c,  and  a  great  number  of  horses.^ 

*  The  horses  taken  on  that  day,  and  at  the  battle  of 
Wawr,  were  employed  to  mount  the  entire  new  regiment 
of  the  Lancers  of  Augustow. 


220  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

In  a  word,  the  corps  of  general  Rosen  was  com- 
pletely broken  up  ;  the  coming  on  of  night,  and 
the  forests,  alone  saved  them  from  total  ruin. 
General  Rosen  himself,  with  his  suite,  was  pur- 
sued and  was  near  being  taken.  All  his  equipage, 
consisting  of  three  voitures,  fell  into  our  hands. 
Thus  ended  the  glorious  30th  of  March.  The 
generalissimo,  who  was  always  in  the  advance, 
and  who  had  personally  arranged  all  the  details  of 
that  day's  operations,  particularly  at  Dembe,  justi- 
fied well  the  high  opinion  which  the  general  officers 
and  the  army  had  entertained  of  him.  The  30th  of 
March  placed  his  name  high  on  the  roll  of  distin- 
guished leaders.  On  that  memorable  day,  two 
Russian  corps,  those  of  Giesmar  and  Rosen,  were 
completely  broken  up.  It  cost  the  enemy,  in 
dead,  wounded  and  prisoners,  full  10,000  men  and 
22  pieces  of  cannon.  On  our  side  the  loss  was 
not  more  than  500  killed  and  wounded.  For  the 
successes  of  that  day  general  Skrzynecki  received 
from  the  government  the  order  of  the  great  Cross 
of  Military  Merit.  The  general  in  chief  was  ac- 
companied, during  the  actions,  by  prince  Adam 
Czartoriski,  and  the  members  of  the  National 
Government,  Berzykowski,  and  Malachowski. 

To  follow  up  the  pursuit  [See  Plan  XIX]  of 
the  fragments  of  the  two  Russian  corps,  general 
Skrzynecki  designated  the  division  of  cavalry  (A) 
under  general  Lubinski,  with  a  battery  of  light 
artillery.  This  detachment  set  out  during  the 
night,    sending  reconnoissances  to  the   right  and 


A  t  'A  A 


')     I  I     I 


'"■'   '1^^?' 


"^ils 


a 


I 

1^. 


n  a d^i^^-'o^  «__ 

.  ;-      « II 


...Cr-'** 


'I  :i  I  y 

\  1. 1  ,''i 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  221 

left,  to  see  that  the  enemy  did  not  prepare  ambus- 
cades. The  army  followed  this  advanced  guard, 
which  soon  overtook  the  enemy  (B),  who  was 
still  in  great  disorder.  Infantry,  cavalry,  artillery, 
and  vehicles,  were  mingled  together,  pressing  their 
retreat.  At  each  step,  our  cavalry  took  up  pris- 
oners. Upon  some  positions  the  enemy  attempted 
to  make  a  stand,  but  every  such  attempt  w^as 
thwarted,  and  he  was  carried  along  before  our 
troops.  This  was  the  case  in  the  position  of  Minsk 
and  of  Jendrzeiow,  where  two  regiments  of  Rus- 
sian cavalry  were  routed  by  the  second  regiment 
of  chasseurs.  It  was  the  same  case  in  the  forest 
of  Kaluszyn,  where  our  artillery  approached  the 
Russian  rear-guard,  and  poured  upon  them  a  fire 
of  grape,  which  scattered  death  among  their  ranks. 
The  Russians,  being  no  longer  in  a  state  to  make 
any  stand  whatever,  fell  into  a  panic,  and  com- 
menced a  general  flight.  They  were  pursued  by 
general  Lubinski  as  far  as  Kaluszyn,  where  night 
closed  upon  the  scene  of  destruction. 

This  day  cost  the  enemy  nearly  as  much  as  the 
preceding.  Besides  their  loss  in  dead  and  wound- 
ed, 3,000  prisoners  fell  into  our  hands,  with  three 
standards,  four  pieces  of  cannon,  and  a  hundred 
vehicles  of  baggage,  ammunition,  &c,  —  in  fact, 
the  whole  baggage  of  the  corps.  But  the  most 
agreeable  success  of  our  army,  on  that  day,  was 
the  taking  possession  of  the  hospitals  of  Minsk 
and  Jendrzeiow,  in  which  as  many  as  two  hundred 
of  our  comrades  were  lying  wounded.  To  wit- 
28 


«S 


222  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

ness  the  joy  of  those  brave  sufferers  was  recom- 
pense enough  for  all  our  fatigues.  The  impetu- 
osity of  our  attack  was  such,  that  the  enemy  had 
not  time  to  burn  the  magazines  of  Milosna,  Minsk, 
and  Kaluszyn,  which  fell  into  our  hands.  To 
make  a  recapitulation  of  the  loss  of  the  enemy  on 
those  two  days  —  it  was  as  follows  :  — Two  of  their 
generals,  Lewandowski  and  Szuszerin,  taken  pris- 
oners, with  as  many  as  sixty  officers,  of  different 
grades,  15,000  soldiers  in  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners ;  26  pieces  of  cannon,  seven  standards, 
1,500  horses,  a  great  quantity  of  different  kinds 
of  arms  and  implements,  and  as  many  as  100  ve- 
hicles of  various  kinds. 

The  disasters  of  these  two  Russian  corps  were 
the  cause  of  the  abandonment  of  the  plan  which 
had  been  adopted  by  marshal  Diebitsch,  of  passing 
the  Vistula  between  Pulawy  and  Maceiowice,  op- 
posite Kozienice,  with  the-  greater  part  of  his 
army ;  and  to  execute  which  he  had  left  his  posi- 
tion on  the  latter  days  of  March,  and  had  reached 
the  environs  of  Ryk.  [See  Plan  XVI.]  The 
fear  of  losing  those  two  corps,  together  with  the 
guard,  had  led  him  to  return  in  the  direction  of 
the  town  of  Kock,  to  afford  them  succor. 

After  these  days,  so  fortunate  for  us,  in  which 
the  Russian  forces  were  again  driven  from  before 
the  walls  of  Warsaw,  the  position  of  their  army 
was  as  follows.  Their  right  wing,  formed  of  the 
remains  of  the  corps  of  Giesmar  and  Rosen,  was 
at  Boimie ;  detachments  being  also  placed  in  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  223 

environs  of  Wengrovi^.  The  main  body,  under 
Diebitsch,  was  at  Kock.  His  advanced  posts  ex- 
tended to  Wodynie,  Seroczyn,  and  Zelechow. 
The  Russian  guard,  which,  as  we  have  said,  had 
formed  the  plan  of  joining  their  main  body,  and 
had  left  Ostrolenka  by  the  road  through  Wengrow, 
was  obliged,  in  consequence  of  the  successes  of  our 
army,  to  abandon  that  plan,  and  to  retire  again  to 
the  environs  of  Ostrolenka,  where  they  now  were 
posted.  In  the  palatinate  of  Lublin  was  the  Rus- 
sian corps  under  general  Witt. 

The  position  of  our  army  was  as  follows.  Our 
left  wing  was.  opposite  Boimie.  It  sent  out  its 
reconnoissances  along  the  river  Kostrzyn,  as  far  as 
Grombkow,  Zimna-woda,  and  even  beyond.  The 
head-quarters  of  the  general  in  chief  were  with 
the  main  body,  at  Latowicz.  Our  right  wing  was 
at  Siennica.  Its  reconnoissances  were  sent  out  as 
far  as  Zelechow,  at  which  place  was  a  detached 
corps,  under  the  command  of  general  Pac.  In  this 
manner,  the  marshy  rivers,  Kostrzyn  and  Swider, 
covered  our  front.  [Refer  to  Plan  VI.]  General 
Uminski,  with  his  detached  corps,  was  at  Rozany, 
in  the  palatinate  of  Plock,  opposed  to  the  Russian 
guard.  In  the  environs  of  the  fortress  of  Zamosc 
in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin,  opposed  to  the  Russian 
corps  of  general  Witt,  was  the  corps  of  general 
Dwernicki.  Besides  this,  a  small  corps  was 
placed  in  the  environs  of  the  town  of  Granica, 
upon  the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula,  under  the  com- 
mand of  general  Sierawski. 


**^ 


224  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

While  the  main  forces  were  acting  with  such 
success,  the  two  detached  corps,  under  generals 
Uminski  and  Dwernicki,  had  also  fought  glori- 
ously, and  gained  important  advantages.  The 
corps  of  general  Dwernicki  spread  terror  in  its 
vicinity,  and  the  Russians  were  compelled  to  send 
a  new  corps  against  him,  under  the  command  of 
genera]  Kreutz ;  so  that  the  combined  Russian 
forces  opposed  to  him  amounted  to  20,000  men. 
Greatly  superior  as  this  force  was,  they  did  not  dare 
to  attack  general  Dwernicki,  who,  reinforced  every- 
day by  volunteers  coming  from  Galicia  and  Volhy- 
nia,  soon  found  himself  at  the  head. of  4500  men, 
and  20  pieces  of  cannon.  This  corps,  in  concert  with 
the  garrison  of  Zamosc,  was  sufficient  to  hold  in 
check  all  the  operations  of  the  enemy  in  that  quarter. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  general  Dwernicki  sent 
a  reconnoissance  as  far  as  the  environs  of  Uscilug, 
at  which  place  a  new  Russian  corps,  coming  from 
Turkey,  was  expected  to  arrive.  This  reconnois- 
sance was  composed  of  two  battalions  of  infantry, 
one  company  of  Galician  volunteers,  three  squad- 
rons of  cavalry,  and  four  pieces  of  cannon.  The 
commander  of  this  force  was  the  brave  colonel 
Russyian.  The  detachment  arrived  at  the  above 
place,  and  received  intelligence  of  the  approach  of 
an  advanced  guard  of  the  corps  of  general  Rudiger, 
composed  of  two  regiments  or  six  battalions  of  in- 
fantry, one  regiment  of  cossacks,  and  eight  pieces 
of  cannon.  Colonel  Russyian  did  not  stay  for  the 
approach  of  this  guard.     He  took  possession  of  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  225 

different  batteaux  which  were  prepared  for,  and 
were  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  Russian  force  at 
the  distance  of  a  league  from  the  town.  Passing 
the  liver  Bug,  with  his  corps,  in  these  boats,  he 
suddenly  attacked  the  Russian  advanced  guard 
with  such  success,  that  he  took  two  thousand  pris- 
oners, and  six  pieces  of  cannon,  and  several  hun- 
dred horses.  With  these  trophies  he  returned  and 
joined  the  corps,  to  their  astonishment,  for  they 
had  received  but  a  single  report  from  him,  and  had 
no  expectation  of  such  results.  The  rumor  of  the 
continual  successes  of  this  corps  of  general  Dwer- 
nicki,  spread  along  the  borders  of  the  Dnieper, 
reached  the  distant  regions  of  our  brethren  in  the 
Ukraine,  and  awakened  in  them  an  ardent  desire 
to  unite  themselves  to  our  cause. 

For  the  continued  and  glorious  advantages  of  this 
corps,  which  commenced  its  operations  with  3,000 
infantry,  800  cavalry,  and  three  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  had  nearly  destroyed  two  Russian  corps,  those 
of  Kreutz  and  Wirtemberg,  taking  10,000  prison- 
ers, and  thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  the  national  gov- 
ernment promoted  its  brave  commander  to  the 
rank  of  full  general  of  cavalry,  and  honored  him 
with  the  surname  of  the  famous  Czarnecki,  the 
ancient  polish  chief.  ^ 


*  General  Dwernicki,  who  received,  among  other  titles, 
that  also  of  the  '  Provider  of  cannon,'  used  his  cavalry  so 
constantly  in  the  charge  upon  artillery,  that  if  the  artillery 
of  the  enemy  began  its  fire,  and  the  charge  was  not  ordered, 
our  cavalry  were  always   disappointed.     This  was  the  case 


226  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  general  in  chief  communicated  to  general 
Dwernicki  his  promotion,  with  the  sincere  thanks 
of  the  national  government ;  and  at  the  same  time 
sent  him  instructions  and  advice  in  regard  to  the 
operations  which  he  was  then  to  follow.  The 
corps  of  general  Dwernicki  was  to  manoeuvre  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  menace  continually  the  left 
wing  of  the  Russian  grand  army.  Keeping  this 
object  in  view,  he  was  not,  unless  with  the  expec- 
tation of  some  very  extraordinary  advantages,  to 
remove  himself  very  far  from  the  fortress  of  Za- 
mosc.  This  place  was  to  serve  as  a  point  d?appui 
in  every  case  of  sudden  danger.     About  this  point 

at  the  battle  of  Kurow,  on  the  2d  of  March.  As  the  ene- 
my in  that  battle  had  placed  his  artillery  in  a  commanding 
position,  and  as  general  Dwernicki  was  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  detachments  under  colonel  Lagowski,  in  the  direction 
of  Belzge,  he  was  not  disposed  then  to  give  the  order  for 
a  charge,  but  preferred  to  amuse  the  enemy  by  various  ma- 
noeuvres of  his  cavalry.  Passing  down  the  front  of  his 
lancers,  he  observed  that  they  wore  a  look  of  dissat- 
isfaction. On  noticing  this,  he  was  astonished,  and  de- 
manded an  explanation.  '  What  does  this  mean,  my  dear 
comrades  V  said  he  ;  '  you  are  sad  at  a  moment  when,  after 
so  many  victories,  you  ought  to  be  joyful.'  The  lancers  re- 
plied — '  Dear  general,  it  is  an  hour  since  the  enemy's  artil- 
lery commenced  their  fire,  and  you  do  not  allow  us  to  charge 
upon  them.'  The  general,  smiling,  answered,  '  Make  your- 
selves content ;  you  shall  soon  have  that  satisfaction  ;'  —  and 
in  a  short  time,  as  the  reader  will  remember,  general  Dwer- 
nicki, seeing  the  detachment  of  colonel  Lagowski  approach- 
ing, gave  the  order  for  an  attack  upon  the  enemy's  artillery, 
and  in  a  moment  they  were  driven  from  their  position,  sa- 
bred, and  ten  pieces  of  their  cannon  taken.  The  Russians, 
to  whom  the  name  of  Dwernicki  was  a  terror,  would  speak 
of  him  in  the  following  manner  :  *  What  can  we  make  of 
such  a  general  ?  He  performs  no  manoeuvres,  and  never 
permits  our  artillery  to  fire.  His  generalship  appears  to  lie 
only  in  taking  possession  at  once  of  our  cannon !' 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  227 

he  was  to  manoeuvre,  and  from  thence  he  was  to 
push  himself,  as  circumstances  might  allow,  into 
the  environs  of  Lublin  and  Wlodawa,  to  trouble 
incessantly  the  above  mentioned  wing,  and  even 
the  rear  of  the  Russian  grand  army.  In  this  in- 
struction of  keeping  himself  near  the  fortress  of 
Zamosc,  and  in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin  generally, 
another  advantage  was  contemplated  :  viz.  that  he 
might  receive  daily  accessions  of  volunteers  from 
Volhynia  and  Podolia.  Our  brethren,  in  those 
provinces,  would  hasten  to  join  themselves  to  his 
victorious  eagles,  (of  which  disposition,  indeed,  he 
received  continual  evidence,)  and,  in  this  manner 
his  corps  would  be  gradually  increased  by  such 
aid  from  those  provinces,  without  attracting  the 
attention  of  the  enemy.  As  the  provinces  of  Vol- 
hynia and  Podolia,  from  their  geographical  charac- 
ter, having  no  large  forests,  were  not  in  a  state  to 
carry  on  a  partizan  warfare,  as  was  quite  practica- 
ble in  Lithuania  and  Samogitia,  and  also  as  the 
Russians  had  several  corps  upon  the  frontiers  of 
Turkey,  which,  by  being  concentrated  in  that  op*en 
country,  might  be  dangerous  to  our  small  forces, 
general  Skrzynecki  was  of  the  opinion  that  gen- 
eral Dwernicki,  by  keeping  near  the  frontiers  of 
the  above  mentioned  provinces,  should  rather  act 
by  a  moral  influence  upon  their  inhabitants,  than 
hazard  certain  advantages  by  entering  them.  The 
river  Wieprz  was  to  be  the  leaning  point  of  his  left 
wing,  and  the  river  Bug  of  his  right.  Between 
those  two  rivers,  in  a  woody  and  marshy  region, 


228  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

he  would  find  many  strong  natural  positions.  Of 
such  he  would  take  advantage,  and  endeavor  to 
strengthen  them  by  different  fortifications.  Gen- 
eral Dwernicki,  in  receiving  these  instructions, 
was  also  invested  with  full  powers,  by  the  national 
government,  to  institute  a  provisional  administra- 
tion over  the  above  provinces,  (in  case  that  cir- 
cumstances should  lead  him  to  establish  a  footing 
there,)  similar  to  that  of  the  kingdom  in  general, 
and  to  bring  them  into  a  state  to  act  with  effect  in 
concert  with  the  rest  of  the  kingdom. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

The  insurrection  in  Lithuania. — Dispositions  of  the  Lithuanians  at  the 
breaking  out  of  our  revolution. — Their  offers  of  co-operation  were  re- 
jected by  the  dictator. — View  of  the  condition  of  Lithuania  under  the 
Russian  sway. — Scheme  of  the  Russian  government  to  destroy  all 
Pohsh  national  feeling  in.  that  province. — The  insurrection  is  brought 
about  hy  the  massacre  of  the  patriots  at  Osmiany. — Capture  of  nume- 
rous towns  by  the  insurgents,  and  dispersion  of  their  garrisons. — 
Storm  of  Wilno,  and  delivery  of  prisoners. — Several  partizan  corps 
are  formed. — Their  destination  and  successes. 

It  had  pleased  Providence  thus  far  to  make  the 
success  of  our  arms,  in  every  point,  a  just  chastise- 
ment of  our  enemy,  and  encouraged  by  this  suc- 
cess, the  nation  had  begun  to  cherish  the  brightest 
hopes  for  the  future.  Their  confidence  and  ex- 
ultation were  complete,  when  the  report  was  re- 
ceived, that  our  brethren  in  Lithuania  and  Samo- 
gitia  had  risen  to  break  the  yoke  of  despotism,  and 
had  openly  commenced  a  revolution.  The  certain 
confirmation  of  this  happy  intelligence  was  brought 
to  the  kingdom  by  one  of  the  students  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wilno.  This  brave  young  man  belonged 
to  the  patriotic  club  which  had  been  secretly  form- 
ed there,  and  that  club  had  sent  him  to  Warsaw 
to  carry  the  authentic  intelligence  of  the  insur- 
rection.* 

*  The  young  Lithuanian,  whose  name  was  Szymanski, 
had  passed,  on  foot,  two  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  eight 
days,  in  the  vilest  habit  of  a  beggar,  and  even  without  shoes, 
through  forests,  marshes,  and  fords,  to  avoid  interception, 
exposed  in  fact  to  every  kind  of  privation.  He  arrived  on 
the  4th  of  April,  at  the  camp  of  the  generalissimo,  at  Jen- 
drzeiow,  where  he  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm.  He 
was  immediately  sent  to  Warsaw,  to  announce  the  happy 
intelligence  to  the  people. 

29 


230  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Then  it  was,  at  last,  that  the  voice  of  liberty 
was  heard  upon  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  and  at 
the  sources  of  the  Dwina  and  the  Niemen  ;  and 
with  this  voice,  was  heard  that  of  union  with  an- 
cient Poland.  The  brave  inhabitants  of  this  im- 
mense region,  animated  with  an  attachment  for  us, 
the  strength  of  which  ages  had  proved,  regarded 
themselves  only  as  a  part  of  one  great  family  with 
ourselves.  Almost  within  hearing  of  the  bloody 
combats  which  had  been  fought,  they  could  not 
restrain  themselves  from  joining  in  the  struggle, 
and  acting  side  by  side  with  us,  for  our  common 
Poland. 

Before  I  enter  upon  the  details  of  this  revolu- 
tion in  Lithuania,  the  reader  will  permit  me  to  re- 
fer him,  in  the  Appendix,  to  a  short  description  of 
that  country  and  a  view  of  its  connection  with 
Poland,  which  is,  in  general,  so  imperfectly  under- 
stood. 

The  Lithuanians  of  Wilno  knew,  four  days  after 
the  29th  of  November,  that  Warsaw  had  given  the 
signal  of  a  new  Polish  insurrection.  A  deputa- 
tion was  immediately  sent  by  them  to  the  dictator 
Chlopicki,  announcing  to  him  that 'all  Lithuania, 
and  particularly  the  Lithuanian  corps  dParmee,  of 
60,000  strong,  was  ready  to  pass  to  the  side  of  the 
Poles,  But  that  inexplicable  and  lamentable  dic- 
tatorship rejected  this  offer,  so  great  and  so  gener- 
ous. The  Lithuanians,  however,  not  despairing, 
waited  for  a  more  propitious  moment ;  and  scarcely 
was  the  dictatorship  abolished,  when  the  national 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  231 

government,  —  thanks  to  the  thoughtful  care  of 
Joachim  Lelewell,  —  addressed  itself  officially  to 
the  Lithuanian  committee.  Every  disposition  was 
made  for  a  rising  at  an  appointed  time,  w^hich  at 
length  arrived. 

It  w^ould  not  be  in  my  power  to  give  the  reader 
a  just  idea  of  the  tyranny  and  persecution  to  which 
the  Polish  provinces  united  to  Russia  were  sub- 
jected. If  the  kingdom  was  oppressed,  it  has 
always  had  some  glimmer  of  constitutional  right, 
but  in  the  provinces  the  only  constitution  was  ab- 
solute power.  Those  provinces,  abounding  in  re- 
sources, and  which,  had  they  been  protected  by 
free  laws,  would  have  been,  as  they  formerly  were, 
the  granary  of  Europe,  presented  every  where 
traces  of  misery,  being  exposed  to  the  abuses  of 
the  Russian  administration  and  its  agents,  who 
wrung  them  to  the  last  drop,  to  enrich  themselves. 
Justice  was  unknown.  Sometimes  the  governors, 
or  sprawnaks,  men  of  most  depraved  conduct, 
changed  the  laws  at  their  own  will,  and  not  to 
obey  that  will  was  to  be  subject  to  be  sent  into 
Siberia.  All  those  provinces  were  submerged  by 
the  Russian  military,  who  were  quartered  in  every 
village ;  and  those  soldiers,  receiving  only  the 
small  compensation  of  a  groat  a  day,  which  was 
altogether  insufficient  for  their  subsistence,  levied 
upon  the  inhabitants  the  means  of  their  support. 
But  the  cause  of  the  greatest  suffering  in  Lithu- 
ania, was,  that,  in.  order  to  prevent  all  sympathy 
between  the  soldiers  and   peasantry,  and  all  na- 


232  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

tional  feeling  in  the  Lithuanian  soldiers,  most  of 
the  levies  from  that  province  were  sent  to  serve  on 
the  barbarian  frontiers  of  Asia,  w^hile  Russian  sol- 
diers w^ere  substituted  for  them,  who  were  with- 
out any  sympathy  with  the  inhabitants,  and  who 
would  be  regardless  of  their  feelings  in  their  de- 
portment towards  them,  and  merciless  in  their 
exactions.  It  was  not  so  under  Alexander,  —  the 
arrangement  was  made  by  Nicholas.  No  idea  can 
be  given  of  the  distress  which  it  caused.  Many  a 
family  was  obliged  to  deny  themselves  their  neces- 
sary food,  to  supply  the  demands  of  the  military 
tyrant  who  was  quartered  upon  them.  The  peas- 
antry in  those  provinces  were  treated  like  brutes. 
No  civilization,  not  the  least  glimmer  of  light,  not 
a  school  was  permitted.  That  poor  race  were 
kept  in  a  state  so  degraded,  that  the  elements  of 
civilization  seemed  to  be  lost  in  them,  and  the 
possibility  of  their  being  recovered  seemed  almost 
hopeless. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  was  the  systematic 
endeavor  to  destroy  all  national  sympathy  with 
Poland.  The  Russians  carried  their  oppression, 
indeed,  so  far,  as  to  change  the  religion  of  the 
country,  and  to  introduce  the  Greek  schism.  But 
through  all  these  persecutions.  Providence  saved 
that  people  from  losing  their  national  sentiments 
as  Poles.  On  the  contrary,  they  have  proved  that 
neither  time  nor  persecutions  will  ever  destroy 
that  attachment,  but  will,  indeed,  rather  strengthen 
it.     The  late  insurrections  in  Lithuania  and  Samo- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.*  233 

gitia,  which  have  been  so  long  under  the  Russian 
government,  and  the  inhabitants  of  which  hastened 
to  take  up  their  arms,  at  the  signal  of  our  revolu- 
tion, afford  a  sufficient  evidence  of  this  attachment. 
What  deserves  especially  to  be  noticed,  is,  that  in 
Lithuania,  it  was  the  peasants  and  the  priests, 
joined  by  the  youths  of  the  academies,  who  first 
began  the  revolt,  and  who  were  the  most  zealous 
defenders  of  the  common  cause.  That  heroic  peo- 
ple commenced  the  revolution  without  any  muni- 
tions, and  without  any  arms  but  the  implements  of 
husbandry.  Armed  in  most  cases  with  clubs  alone, 
they  abandoned  all  to  unite  in  our  aid,  and  fought 
with  courage  and  success  for  nearly  two  months, 
against  the  different  Russian  corps,  before  the 
corps  of  Gielgud  and  Chlapowski  arrived,  which, 
instead  of  succoring  them,  by  the  misconduct  of 
their  generals,  sacrificed  the  Lithuanians,  as  well 
as  themselves,  and  gave  the  first  downward  impulse 
to  our  cause. 

The  insurrection  of  Lithuania  and  Samogitia, 
was  propagated  with  rapidity  through  all  the  de- 
partments of  those  provinces.  The  commence- 
ment was  made  in  the  departments  of  Osmiany 
and  Troki,  accelerated  by  the  following  circum- 
stance. 

Many  of  the  patriots,  for  the  purpose  of  consult- 
ing upon  the  different  arrangements  for  the  revolt, 
had  secretly  assembled  on  the  last  of  March  at 
Osmiany,  and  held  their  secret  conferences  in  the 
church  of  the  place.     While  occupied  in  this  man- 


234  'the  polish  revolution. 

ner,  a  loud  shouting  was  heard  in  the  town.  A 
regiment  of  cossacks  had  entered  the  place,  and  a 
great  part  of  the  regiment  surrounded  the  church. 
The  doors  were  broken  down,  and  the  cossacks 
entered  and  sabred  the  unfortunate  men  within 
these  sacred  walls.  Wounded  as  they  were,  those 
who  survived  the  attack  were  thrown  into  wagons 
to  be  carried  to  Wilno.  But  in  this  the  barbarians 
did  not  succeed.  A  few  escaped  from  their  bloody 
hands,  ran  into  the  suburbs  of  the  town  and  col- 
lected the  peasantry,  and  on  that  very  night,  some 
hundreds  of  the  inhabitants  having  been  got  to- 
gether, Osmiany  was  attacked  with  the  greatest 
fury  by  the  patriots.  Several  hundreds  of  cossacks 
were  massacred.  The  others  took  flight,  and  the 
poor  prisoners  were  delivered.  From  that  moment 
the  flame  spread  to  the  departments  of  Wilno,  Wil- 
komierz,  Rosseyny,  and  Szawla.  In  a  few  weeks, 
more  than  twelve  towns  were  taken  by  storm,  and 
the  Russian  garrisons  driven  out  and  dispersed. 
The  principal  of  these  towns  were  Jarbourg,  Szaw- 
la, Keydany,  Wilkomierz,  Kowno,  Troki,  Swien- 
ciany,  Rosienice,  and  Beysagola.  In  a  short  time, 
more  than  a  thousand  Russians  fell  under  the 
blows  of  the  Lithuanians,  and  another  thousand 
were  taken  prisoners.  The  Lithuanians  accoutred 
themselves  with  their  arms.  Some  hundred  horses, 
and  several  pieces  of  cannon  were  also  taken.  The 
most  bloody  aflair  was  the  storm  of  Wilno,  on  the 
night  of  the  4th  of  April.  Two  hundred  Lithu- 
anians attacked  this  town,  and  fought  with  4,000 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  235 

Russian  infantry,  (nearly  two  regiments,)  six 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  twelve  pieces  of  cannon. 
For  the  whole  night,  the  Lithuanians  pressed  their 
attack  with  fury.  They  took  the  powder  maga- 
zine and  arsenal,  where  they  found  many  arms. 
But  the  most  consolatory  success  wa^,  the  rescuing 
of  some  hundred  patriotic  students,  and  proprietors, 
who  had  been  confined  in  prison  there  for  years. 
The  battle  of  Keydany  and  Szerwinty  was  also 
severe,  and  the  valor  of  the  brave  Lithuanians  was 
equally  displayed  there.  At  Keydany,  twenty  of 
the  brave  youths  of  the  academy  defended  the 
bridge  over  the  Niewiaza,  against  two  .squadrons 
of  cavalry,  while,  on  the  other  side,  some  hun- 
dreds of  those  brave  youths  made  a  storm  upon  the 
city,  and  routed  the  garrison,  which  consisted  of 
three  squadrons  of  hussars.  In  a  word,  not  quite 
2,000  Lithuanians,  armed  in  the  most  defective 
manner,  commenced  the  struggle,  and  drove  out 
garrisons  to  the  amount  of  eight  or  ten  thousand 
Russian  regular  troops,  spreading  consternation 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  enormous  space  be- 
tween the  Dwina  and  the  Niemen.  Their  num- 
bers were  soon  augmented,  and  armed  with  weap- 
ons taken  from  the  Russians.  Their  forces  were 
afterwards  divided  into  several  small  detached  par- 
tizan  corps,  which  received  the  following  destina- 
tion. 1st,  the  corps  under  the  command  of  B**% 
consisting  of  about  1,500  infantry  and  100  horse, 
was  to  observe  the  territory  upon  the  Russian 
frontier,  between  Jarbourg,  upon  the  Niemen,  as 


236  THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

far  as  the  frontier  of  Courland.  This  corps  was 
to  interrupt  the  transport  of  provisions,  from  the 
Russian  territory,  and  also  to  keep  a  communica- 
tion between  the  ports  of  the  Baltic  Sea,  Lipawa 
and  Polonga,  so  as  to  secure  a  correspondence  with 
foreign  vessels  which  might  arrive  with  ammuni- 
tion and  other  aid  for  Poland.  The  2d  corps  con- 
sisted of  about  2,000  infantry,  under  the  command 
of  P***,  and  Z^**,  and  were  to  act  between  Uce- 
amy  and  Dawgeliszki.  There  this  corps  of  parti- 
zans  was  to  profit  by  the  strong  positions  which 
the  nature  of  the  country  offers,  among  its  lakes 
and  forests.  This  corps  was  to  observe  the  great 
road  which  leads  through  that  country  from  St 
Petersburgh  to  Warsaw,  and  to  surprise  and  attack 
all  the  Russian  detachments  which  might  pass  that 
road,  on  their  way  to  Poland. 

To  act  in  communication  with  this  corps,  and 
against  the  garrison  of  Wilno,  was  designated  a 
3d  corps,  under  the  command  of  ]VP^^,  composed 
of  nearly  2,000  infantry  and  100  cavalry.  This 
corps  made  itself  severely  felt.  A  fourth  small 
detachment,  under  the  command  of  B*^^,  of  about 
800  strong,  acted  in  the  department  of  Grodno, 
and  occupied  a  part  of  the  forest  of  Bialowiez. 

Besides  these,  was  a  detachment  of  400  horse, 
under  the  command  of  V***.  This  detachment 
was  constantly  in  movement,  and  kept  open  the 
communications  between  the  other  corps,  and  acted 
as  occasion  required.  It  was  especially  to  attempt 
to  surprise  the  enemy's  artillery,  which  was  often 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  237 

sent  in  an  unprotected  state.  This  detachment  of 
cavahy,  with  the  first  named  corps  under  the  com- 
mand of  B*^^,  attacked  so  sudden  and  vigorously 
the  Russian  corps  under  the  command  of  general 
Szyrman,  that  they  vrere  forced  to  take  refuge 
upon  the  Prussian  territory  at  Memel.  The  Prus- 
sians received  them,  and  afterwards  permitted  them 
to  leave  w^ith  their  arms  and  ammunition.  This 
w^as  not  the  first  nor  the  last  example  of  such  re- 
lief afforded  to  our  enemy  by  Prussia. 

The  insurrections  of  Lithuania  and  Samogitia, 
which  had  begun  so  successfully  and  promised  to 
extend  even  to  the  borders  of  the  Dnieper  and  the 
Black  Sea,  could  not  but  threaten  the  utmost  dan- 
ger to  the  Russian  forces  which  had  entered  the 
kingdom,  and  it  was  from  this  moment  that  the 
situation  of  the  enemy  became  in  a  high  degree 
critical,  as  every  military  judge  will  perceive. 
The  danger  of  their  position  was  still  more  to  be 
augmented  by  our  success  in  the  battle  of  Iganie, 
on  the  9th  of  April. 


30 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Plan  of  operation  against  the  two  corps  of  Rosen  and  Kreutz.-^Battle 
of  Iganie. — Reflections  on  the  state  of  the  Polish  cause  after  the  vic- 
tory of  Iganie. — Review  of  the  course  of  the  campaign. — Condition 
of  the  Russian  array. — Discontents  in  Russia. — Representations  of 
the  Senate  at  St  Petersburgh  to  the  Emperor. — Comparative  view  of 
the  forces  of  the  two  armies  at  the  present  stage  of  the  conflict. 

Marshal  Diebitsch,  as  is  known  to  the  reader, 
was  forced,  by  our  victories  of  the  31st  of  March 
and  the  1  st  of  April,  to  abandon  his  plan  of  passing 
the  Vistula  opposite  to  Kozienice,  and  to  think  of 
nothing  farther  at  present,  than  of  saving  the  two 
corps  of  Rosen  and  Giesrnar,  and  the  guard.  He 
was  so  far  separated  from  them  while  between 
Kock  and  Ryk,  where  he  then  was,  that  by  a 
prompt  diversion  on  our  part,  by  Lukow,  he  might 
have  lost  those  corps,  and  it  was  in  fear  of  this, 
that  he  hastened  to  arrive  as  soon  as  possible  to 
their  succor  at  Siedlce.  Our  general  in  chief 
thought  to  anticipate  this  movement,  and  to  throw 
himself  upon  the  combined  corps  of  Giesmar  and 
Rosen,  before  Diebitsch  should  reach  them.* 

*  Every  military  reader,  who  shall  follow,  with  strict  at- 
tention, the  plans  of  our  general  in  strategy  and  tactics,  will 
be  astonished,  perhaps,  that  after  such  victories  as  those  of 
the  31st  of  March  and  1st  of  April,  he  should  have  aban- 
doned the  advantages  which  he  might  have  gained,  in  follow- 
ing up,  immediately,  his  operations  upon  the  two  corps  of 
Rosen  and  Giesmar,  and  then  throwing  himself  rapidly  upon 
the  superior  forces  of  Diebitsch,  which,  after  those  corps 
were  cut  off,  could,  by  a  simultaneous  diversion  upon  Zele- 
chow  and  Lukow,  [See  Pto],  have  been  attacked  on  both 


m 
^ 


]  /t;l'j  II  J,\ 


0  .\  i.h' ')  ,i  ;i  I 


/Ji)  naeea 


% 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  239 


BATTLE   OF   IGANIE.     [_See  Plans  XX  and  XXI. 1 

On  the  9th  of  April,  the  Russian  army  was 
nearly  in  the  same  position  as  we  have  last  de- 
scribed them.  The  main  body,  under  marshal 
Diebitsch,  were  in  the  environs  of  Kock,  and  the 
combined  corps  of  Rosen  and  Giesmar  [^Plan  XX, 
(a)],  were  upon  the  small  river  Kostrzyn  (6),  at 
Boimie.  Our  army  also  had  not  changed  its 
position. 

The  following  were  the  dispositions  for  the  at- 
tack. The  reader,  on  examining  the  plan,  will 
see  that  the  two  corps  opposed  to  our  forces,  which 
were  at  Latowicz  (c),  were  too  far  advanced, 
which  exposed  them  to  be  turned  on  their  left 
wing,  and  even  taken  in  the  rear,  if  our  forces 
there  should  succeed  in  driving  back  the  forces 
(e)  of  the  enemy  on  the  road  {d)  from  Latowicz 
by  Wodynie  to  Siedlce.  To  execute  this  move- 
ment the  order  was  given  that  when  the  jfirst  divi- 
sion of  infantry  (/),  supported  by  twenty-four 
pieces  of  cannon,  should  commence  the  attack 
upon  the  great  road  opposite  Boimie,  the  third 
division  (^),  having  with  them  the  brigade  of  cav- 
alry of  Kicki,  should  leave  the  position  at  Latowicz 

sides,  and  thrown  into  confusion.  Although  I  cannot  give  a 
satisfactory  explanation  of  this  apparent  fault,  it  must  be 
considered,  that  those  subsequent  events  which  give  a  color 
to  the  imputation,  could  not,  perhaps,  have  then  been  rea- 
sonably anticipated  by  the  general ;  and  the  talent  so  uni- 
formly displayed  by  Skrzynecki  should  force  us  to  suppose 
that  there  were  some  conclusive  objections  to  such  a  course, 
occurring  to  his  mind,  which  are  not  now  apparent  to  the 
observer. 


240  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

before  day -break,  and  take  the  direction  of  Wody- 
nie,  to  attack  the  forces  which  it  might  find  there  ; 
but  if  those  forces  should  be  found  greatly  superior, 
the  division  was  to  remain  in  a  strong  position  at 
Jeruzalem  (h).  If  it  should  succeed  in  driving 
back  the  enemy's  forces,  it  was  to  take  the  road 
on  the  left,  leading  from  Wodynie  through  Iganie 
(^)  to  Siedlce.  Every  effort  was  to  be  directed  to 
the  point  of  arriving  as  soon  as  possible  upon  the 
dyke  (k)  at  Iganie,  which  leads  over  the  marshes  of 
the  river  Sucha  (/).  By  a  prompt  manoeuvre  of  this 
kind,  the  enemy  could  not,  as  we  have  said,  escape 
being  turned.  For  the  better  execution  of  this  plan, 
the  enemy  was  to  be  harassed  on  the  main  road,  in 
order  that  general  Prondzynski,  who  was  to  com- 
mand the  expedition  to  Wodynie,  might  have  time 
to  manoeuvre  upon  the  enemy's  flank. 

A  division  of  cavalry  (m),  under  the  command 
of  general  Stryinski,  was  to  leave  Boimie,  and 
take  a  direction  on  the  left,  towards  the  village  of 
Gruszki,  to  pass  there  the  fords  of  the  river  Kos- 
tizyn,  and  in  case  of  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  to  fall 
upon  his  right  wing. 

Having  issued  these  instructions,  and  confided 
the  command  of  the  little  corps  which  was  to  act 
upon  the  enemy's  left  wing  at  Wodynie,  to  general 
Prondzynski,  the  general  in  chief  left  himself  for 
Boimie,  to  lead  the  attack  in  person  upon  the  main 
road.  As  was  the  case  in  the  position  at  Boimie, 
[Refer  to  Plan  II,]  we  were  separated  from  the 
enemy  by  the  marshes  of  the  river  Kostrzyn.     The 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  241 

two  ruined  bridges  upon  the  dyke  not  permitting 
either  ourselves  or  the  enemy  to  pass,  general 
Skrzynecki  contented  himself  with  opening  a  fire 
of  artillery  upon  the  Russian  position,  in  order  to 
occupy  the  attention  of  the  enemy,  while  prepara- 
tions were  making  to  repair  the  bridges  sufficiently 
fo  admit  a  passage. 

The  moment  that  the  work  of  reconstructing 
the  bridges  was  to  be  put  in  execution,  was  to  be 
decided  by  the  time  and  the  direction  in  which  the 
fire  of  general  Prondzynski  should  be  heard.  If 
the  latter  general  should  succeed  on  the  enemy's 
flank,  then,  of  course,  the  bridges  were  to  be  re- 
constructed, if  not,  they  were  to  remain  in  their 
present  state  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  enemy. 
Several  hours  were  occupied  by  this  fire  of  artil- 
lery, and  slight  manoeuvres  of  the  light  troops, 
when  at  last,  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  the 
fire  of  general  Prondzynski  was  heard,  who  had 
evidently  passed  Wodynie,  and  had  begun  acting 
on  the  enemy's  flank.  This  was  the  signal  to 
commence  repairing  the  bridges.  General  Skrzy- 
necki, with  his  suite,  superintended  the  work,  and 
several  battalions  were  employed  in  bringing  to- 
gether the  materials.  A  degree  of  consternation 
was  observed  in  the  enemy's  forces,  in  consequence 
of  the  attack  on  his  flank,  and  his  columns  began 
a  movement ;  but  his  artillery  continued  in  their 
position,  and  commenced  a  terrible  fire  upon  our 
men  who  were  engaged  in  reconstructing  the 
bridges.     The  presence  of  mind,  however,  of  the 


242  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

general  in  chief,  who  exposed  himself  at  the  most 
dangerous  points,  encouraged  the  men  to  persevere 
in  their  labors  under  this  destructive  fire  of  artil- 
lery.^ When  the  fire  on  his  flank  was  at  its 
height,  the  enemy  began  to  withdraw  his  artillery, 
and  commenced  a  retreat.  By  between  10  and 
11  o'clock  no  part  of  the  enemy's  forces  were 
remaining  upon  the  plain  of  Boimie;  but,  although 
the  work  of  repairing  the  bridges  was  pressed  to 
the  utmost,  it  was  near  two  o'clock  before  they 
could  be  brought  to  such  a  state  as  to  admit  the 
passage  of  artillery ;  and  although  several  batta- 
lions of  the  infantry  had  passed  over  before  this, 
they  were  not  able,  without  too  much  exposure,  to 
overtake  the  enemy,  who  was  in  rapid  retreat, 
leaving  his  cavalry  as  a  rear  guard.  It  was  not 
until  the  last  mentioned  hour,  that  the  whole  di- 
vision passed  the  bridges,  and  pressed  forward  at  a 
rapid  pace  in  the  pursuit,  the  cavalry  advancing 
upon  the  trot.  While  this  was  taking  place  upon 
the   great  road   to   Boimie,  general   Prondzynski 


*  No  terms  can  express  the  admirable  conduct  of  our  com- 
mander and  his  suite,  who  directed  the  work  of  reconstruct- 
ing these  bridges,  in  person.  The  general  and  his  officers 
all  labored  with  their  own  hands  at  this  important  task. 
Some  of  them  were  wounded.  Our  brave  soldiers,  witness- 
ing the  fine  example  of  their  chief,  shouted  their  patriotic 
songs,  as  they  worked,  under  this  destructive  fire.  While  a 
party  were  placing  some  trunks  of  trees,  a  shell  fell  among 
them.  To  have  left  their  labor  in  order  to  avoid  the  danger, 
would  have  delayed  the  work,  they  therefore  remained  in 
their  places,  and  with  the  noise  of  the  explosion  was  min- 
gled the  shout  of  '  Poland  forever  !'  Providence  granted  that 
in  that  exposed  labor  our  loss  was  very  inconsiderable. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  243 

l^Plan  XXI,  (A),]  who,  according  to  his  instruc- 
tions, advanced  to  Wodynie,  found  there  a  division 
of  sixteen  squadrons  of  Russian  cavalry,  whom  he 
drove  from  their  position  :  he  pursued  them  in  the 
direction  of  Siedlce,  and  reached  the  environs  of 
Iganie,  where  he  saw  the  corps  of  Rosen  and  Gies- 
mar  (B)  in  full  retreat.  At  this  moment  the  posi- 
tion of  general  Prondzynski  was  also  critical ;  for, 
as  the  reader  is  already  aware,  our  main  army  was 
not  in  a  condition  to  follow  the  enemy,  on  account 
of  the  obstruction  from  the  broken  bridges.  If  the 
enemy  had  thrown  himself  upon  Prondzynski,  they 
could  have  crushed  him,  and  with  their  other 
forces  could  have  safely  passed  the  dyke  (a)  at 
Iganie,  before  our  main  forces,  retarded  as  they 
were,  could  have  arrived.  This  danger  was  per- 
ceived by  Prondzynski,  and  he  therefore  contented 
himself  with  driving  the  division  of  Russian  cavalry 
(C)  from  a  position  they  had  taken  upon  the 
heights  of  Iganie,  (a  task  which  was  bravely  execu- 
ted by  the  cavalry  of  Kicki,  and  in  which  the  colonel 
Mycielski  was  wounded)  and  occupying  that  posi- 
tion himself,  placing  there  the  brigade  of  Romarino 
to  defend  it. 

It  was  between  four  and  five  o'clock  that  Prond- 
zynski first  perceived  our  lancers  (D)  advancing 
upon  the  main  road.  A  great  part  of  the  enemy, 
particularly  of  their  cavalry,  had  not  yet  passed 
the  dyke  (a),  being  obstructed  by  their  artillery. 
Generals  Prondzynski  and  Romarino,  dismounting 
from   their  horses,  with  carbines  in  their  hands, 


244  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  their  columns, 
and  commenced  a  fire  of  artillery,  to  apprize  our 
advancing  cavalry  of  their  position.     At  the  sound 
of  this  fire,  the  cavalry  of  Lubinski  raised  the  hur- 
rah, rushed  forward,  and  as  they  approached  near 
the  brigade  of  Romarino,  threw  themselves  at  the 
charge  upon  that  portion  of  the  enemy's  rear  guard 
which  had  not  yet  passed  the  dyke.     Our  infantry 
and  cavalry  thus   fell  simultaneously   upon  them, 
the  enemy  were  terribly  cut  up,  and  the  battle  was 
gained.     Nearly  five  Russian  battalions,  amount- 
ing to  4,000  men,  with   their  officers,  amounting 
to  near  one   hundred,  their  standards,   and  eight 
pieces  of  cannon  of  large  calibre,  were  taken.     Six 
regiments  of  cavalry  were  dispersed,  many  of  them 
were  lost  in   the  marshes  of  the  river  into  which 
they  were  driven,  and  several  hundred  men  and 
horse  were  taken  prisoners  there.     In  this  battle, 
which  may  be  counted  one   of  the  finest  in  the 
campaign,   the  circumstance  that   our  main  force 
was  retarded  by  the   state  of  the  bridges,   alone 
saved  the  enemy  from  total  ruin.     It  is  to  be  re- 
marked that  the  2d  division  of  cavalry  of  general 
Stryinski,   did  not  improve  its  time,  and  efiected 
nothing  upon  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy,  as  the 
instructions  contemplated.     The  negligence  of  that 
general   was  inexcusable,  and  the  commander  in 
chief  deprived  him  of  his  command.     We  lost  in 
this  battle  about  five  hundred  men,  in  killed  and 
wounded.     The   brave  general   Prondzynski  was 
slightly  wounded.     Before  night  the  two  armies 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  245 

were  not  at  the  distance  of  a  cannon-shot  from 
each  other,  but  all  was  tranquil.  The  disorder  and 
consternation  of  the  enemy  may  be  imagined, 
when  it  is  stated  that  our  columns  took  position 
before  their  eyes,  on  the  field  of  Iganie,  without 
being  in  the  least  disturbed  by  them. 

The   reader  will  permit  me  to  fix  his  attention 
upon  the  epoch  of  the  battle  of  Iganie,  which  was 
indeed  the  brightest  moment  of  our  war,  the  mo- 
ment of  the  highest  success  of  the  Polish  arms,  the 
moment  of  the  most  confident  hopes,  when  every 
Pole  in  imagination  saw  his  country  already  re- 
stored to  her  ancient  glory.     Let  us  then,  from 
this  point,  cast  a  look  backwards  to  the  commence- 
ment of  this  terrible  contest.     Two  months  before, 
an  enormous  Russian  force  had  invaded  our  coun- 
try, defended  as  it  was  by  a  mere  handful  of  her 
sons  ;  and  any  one  who  had  seen  that  immense 
army  enter  upon  our  soil,  could  not  but  have  looked 
on  Poland  with  commiseration,  as  about  to  be  in- 
stantaneously annihilated.     In  this  expectation,  in 
fact,  all  Europe  looked  on,  and  at  every  moment 
the  world  expected  to  hear  of  the  terrible  catastro- 
phe,—  to  see  Poland  again  in  chains,  and  the  Rus- 
sian arms  reposing  on  the  borders  of  the   Rhine. 
Such,  in  fact,  were  the  expectations  and  even  the 
promises  of  marshal  Diebitsch.     Providence,  how- 
ever, willed  otherwise.     The  fii'st  shock  of  the  Po- 
lish arms  with  the  Russians  taught  the  latter  what 
was  the  moral  strength   of  patriotism,  —  what  a 
nation  can  do  for  love  of  country  and  of  liberty. 
31 


246  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

The  fields  of  Siedlee,  Dobre,  and  Stoczek,  the  first 
witnesses  of  our  triumphs,   and  the  grave    of  so 
many  of  our  enemies,  taught  them  to  respect  the 
nation  w^hich  they  expected  to  subdue,  made  them 
repent  the  audacity  of  having  passed  our  frontiers, 
and  gave   them  a  terrible  presage  of  how  dearly 
they  would  have  to  pay  for  this  unjust  invasion  of 
our  soil.     Battle   upon  battle  was  given,  in  which 
the  enemy  were  uniformly  subjected  to  the  sever- 
est losses.     The  two  great  roads  leading  from  dif- 
ferent directions  to  Warsaw,   on  which  they  had 
followed   the  Poles,  were  covered  with  their  dead. 
Thus  subjected  to  loss  at  every  step,  the  enemy 
reached  at  last  the  field  of  Praga,  and  there  col- 
lecting all  his  forces  in  one  body,  under  a  tremen- 
dous fire  of  artillery  he  thought  to  overpower  our 
small  forces.     But  he  failed  to  do  it.     The  immor- 
tal day   of  the  25th  of  February  was  nearly   the 
destruction  of  his  enormous  force,  and,  after  fifteen 
days  of  severe  fighting,  that  great  army,  which  was 
designed  to  destroy  Poland  and  to  make  Europe 
tremble,  was  brought  to  a  state  of  extremity.     The 
autocrat  and  his   general  blushed  at  the  menaces 
which  they  had  uttered.     Poland  believed  that  the 
former  would  reflect  upon  those  bloody  struggles 
and  the  immense  losses  which  Jie  had  sufiered,  and 
would  be  unwilling    to   continue  such    sacrifices. 
Nearly  50,000  Russians   were  already  sacrificed. 
How  many  more  lives  might  he  not  still  lose  ? 
The  Poles,  although  conquerors,  held  out  the  hand 
of  reconciliation,  as  the  letters  that  Skrzynecki 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  247 

addressed  to  Diebitsch  have  proved.  In  those  let- 
ters, written  w^ith  the  utmost  cordiality,  frankness, 
and  directness,  he  invited  the  Russian  commander 
to  present  the  real  state  of  things  to  the  monarch, 
and  to  assure  him  that  the  Poles  longed  to  put  an 
end  to  this  fraternal  struggle.  A  v^ord  of  justice, 
of  good  will,  indicative  of  a  disposition  to  act*for 
the  happiness  of  the  nation,  and  to  observe  the 
privileges  which  the  constitution  granted,  —  a  word 
of  this  nature,  from  the  lips  of  the  monarch,  would 
have  disarmed  the  Poles,  blood  would  have  ceased 
to  flow,  and  those  arms  outstretched  for  the  fight, 
would  have  thrown  away  the  sabre,  and  would  have 
been  extended  towards  him  as  to  a  father,  —  to 
him,  the  author  of  a  happy  reconciliation.  He 
would  have  been  immortalized  in  history,  and 
would  have  taken  a  place  by  the  side  of  Titus. 

Far,  however,  from  that  true  and  noble  course, 
that  proud  autocrat,  as  well  as  his  servant,  Die- 
bitsch, thought  little  of  the  thousands  of  human 
beings  he  was  sacrificing  :  —  far  from  such  magna- 
nimous conduct,  he  sent  for  other  thousands  to  be 
sacrificed,  to  gratify  his  arrogance  and  ambition. 
He  contrives  new  plans  to  pass  the  Vistula.  It 
was  not  enough  to  have  covered  four  palatinates 
with  ruin  on  one  side  of  that  river.  He  deter- 
mines to  spread  devastation  and  ruin  upon  the 
other  also  :  —  in  fine,  to  attack  Warsaw,  and  bury 
in  its  own  ruins  that  beautiful  capital,  the  residence 
of  the  successors  of  Piast  and  Jagellow,  and  where 
he   himself  could  have  reigned  in  tranquillity,  by 


248  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

only  having  been  just  and  good.  In  the  execution 
of  this  plan  of  destruction,  he  w^as  arrested  and 
justly  punished  upon  the  glorious  days  of  the  31  st 
of  March  and  the  1st  of  April,  which,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  recent  revolutions  in  Lithuania  and 
Samogitia,  and  the  recent  battle  of  Iganie,  seemed 
to  threaten  the  ruin  of  his  army. 

The  Russian  army  was  now  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  disaffection,  being  posted  in  a  devastated 
country,  and  having  their  resources  for  subsistence 
entirely  cut  off  by  the  state  of  Lithuania  and  Samo- 
gitia. In  addition  to  their  immense  losses  in  ac- 
tion, fatigue,  sickness,  and  other  inconveniences 
had  reduced  them  to  a  state  of  extreme  distress. 
Besides  the  influence  of  physical  evils,  there  was 
a  moral  influence  which  impaired  their  strength, 
arising  from  a  conviction  which  they  could  not 
avoid  feeling,  of  the  justice  of  the  Polish  cause. 
The  Russian  soldiers  began  also  to  reflect,  that 
by  thus  serving  the  ends  of  despotism,  they  were 
only  securing  the  continuance  of  their  own  servi- 
tude. These  reflections  were  not  made  by  the 
army  alone,  but,  as  we  were  secretly  advised  by 
persons  coming  from  the  interior  of  Russia,  they 
were  made  there  also,  and  were  accompanied  with 
the  same  sentiments  of  discontent.  At  St  Peters- 
burgh,  as  well  as  at  Moscow,  various  discontents 
were  manifested,  and  notices  of  such  must  have 
met  the  eye  of  the  reader  in  the  journals  of  the 
day.  The  senate  of  St  Petersburgh  presented  to 
the   consideration  of  the  monarch  the   continual 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  249 

severe  losses  of  the  preceding  years,  in  the  wars 
with  Persia  and  Turkey,  and  those  of  this  cam- 
paign, (though  much  underrated  by  them,)  which 
they  had  reason  to  fear  would  be  still  increased, 
and  which  might  encourage  revolutions  in  all  the 
provinces.  For  these  reasons  the  senate  took  upon 
themselves  to  advise  some  propitiatory  measures, 
and  some  attempt  by  concessions  to  satisfy  the 
demands  of  the  Poles.  The  party  most  zealous  in 
favor  of  such  a  course  was  composed  of  those  who 
had  relations  and  friends  exiled  to  Siberia,  on 
account  of  the  revolutionary  movement  of  1825. 
The  Russian  patriots  in  genera],  not  only  thought 
it  a  favorable  moment  to  attempt  to  effect  an  ame- 
lioration of  the  fate  of  those  individuals,  but  they 
hoped  that  the  restoration  of  their  ancient  consti- 
tutional privileges  and  nationality  to  the  Polish 
provinces  attached  to  Russia,  would  authorize  a 
claim  for  equal  privileges  to  the  people  of  the 
whole  Russian  empire. 

To  these  circumstances,  is  to  be  added  that  at 
this  time  the  other  cabinets  began  to  feel  dissatis- 
fied at  the  course  of  Russia,  and  decidedly  refused 
the  requests  of  aid  in  men  and  money  which  she 
made  on  the  pretext  of  former  treaties.  Every 
thing,  in  fine,  seemed  to  promise  a  near  end  of  the 
present  difficulties.  The  Polish  army,  to  whom 
this  state  of  things  was  well  known,  waited  impa- 
tiently for  the  moment  of  a  decisive  contest.  One 
victory  more,  and  the  Russians  would  not  be  in  a 
state   to  push  their   attempts   farther.      Nothing 


250  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.    " 

could  then  stop  the  progress  of  our  arms,  which 
would  rest  on  the  borders  of  the  Dnieper,  the  only 
frontier  known  to  our  ancestors.  One  struggle 
more,  and  the  darkness  of  ages,  which  had  hung 
over  the  Polish  provinces  of  the  North,  would  be 
dispersed.  The  light  of  civilization  would  then 
spread  its  rays  as  far  as  the  Ural  mountains,  and 
with  that  civilization,  a  new  happiness  would  cheer 
those  immense  regions.  Upon  the  borders  of  the 
Dnieper  fraternal  nations  would  hold  out  their 
hands  towards  us,  and  there  would  be  made  the 
great  appeal :  '  Russians  !  why  all  this  misery  ? 
The  Poles  wish  to  deprive  you  of  nothing.  Nay, 
they  have  even  sacrificed  their  children  for  your 
good.  Russians  !  awake  to  a  sense  of  your  condi- 
tion !  You,  like  us,  are  only  the  unhappy  victims 
of  the  relentless  will  of  those  who  find  their  account 
in  oppressing  you  and  us.  Let  us  end  this  strug- 
gle, caused  by  despotism  alone.  Let  it  be  our 
common  aim  to  rid  ourselves  of  its  cruel  power. 
It  is  despotism  alone  that  we  have  any  interest  in 
fighting  against.  Let  us  mark  these  frontiers, 
which  so  much  fraternal  blood  has  been  shed  to 
regain,  by  monuments,  that  shall  tell  posterity, 
that  here  ended  forever  the  contest  between  bro- 
thers, which  shall  recall  the  disasters  that  despot- 
ism has  caused,  and  be  a  memorial  of  eternal 
friendship  between  us,  and  of  eternal  warning  to 
tyranny.' 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTlOiN.  251 


A     COMPARATIVE     VIEW    OF     THE    FORCE    OF    THE    TWO     ARMIES 
AFTER    THE    BATTLE    OF    IGANIE. 

The  Russian  forces,  which  commenced  the  con- 
test on  the  10th  of  December,  amounted,  as  has 
been  before  stated,  to  about  200,000  men  and  300 
pieces  of  cannon.  That  army  received  two  rein- 
forcements, viz.  the  corps  of  general  prince  Sza- 
chowski,  consisting  of  20,000  men,  and  36  pieces 
of  cannon  ;  and  the  corps  of  the  imperial  guard, 
consisting  also  of  20,000  men  and  36  pieces  of 
cannon.  The  whole  Russian  force,  then,  which 
had  fought  against  us,  amounted  to  240,000  men, 
and  372  pieces  of  cannon. 

To  act  against  this  force,  our  army,  counting 
the  reinforcements  of  6000  men  which  it  received 
before  the  battle  of  Grochow,  had  in  service  about 
60,000  men,  and  about  100  pieces  of  cannon. 
Up  to  the  ba\tle  of  Iganie,  fifteen  principal  battles 
had  been  given,  viz.  those  of  Stoczek,  Dobre, 
Milosna,  Swierza  and  Nowawies,  Bialolenka  (on 
the  20th  and  24th),  Grochow  (on  the  20th  and 
25th),  Nasielsk,  Pulawy,  Kurow,  Wawr  J^on  the 
18th  and  31st),  Dembe-Wielkie  and  Iganie.  To 
these  are  to  be  added  a  great  number  of  small 
skirmishes,  in  not  one  of  which  could  it  have  been 
said  that  the  Russians  were  successful.  By  their 
own  official  reports,  —  after  the  battle  of  Grochow, 
more  than  fifty  thousand  Russians  were  hors  du 
combat.  It  will  not,  then,  be  an  exaggeration  to 
say,  that  their  whole  loss,  taking  into  the  account 


262  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

prisoners  and  those  who  fell  under  the  ravages  of 
the  cholera,  which  had  begun  to  extend  itself  in 
their  army,  must  have  amounted  to  between  80,000 
and  100,000  men.*  From  the  enormous  park  of 
artillery  which  the  Russians  had  brought  against 

*  I  cannot  pretend  to  give  the  reader  an  accurate  idea 
of  the  number  of  prisoners  which  were  taken  during  the 
first  days  of  April.  From  the  battle  of  Wawr  to  that  of 
Iganie,  not  a  day  passed  in  which  great  numbers  of  them, 
with  baggage  and  effects  of  all  kinds,  were  not  brought  in. 
They  must  have  amounted  in  that  interval  to  full  16,000. 
Those  prisoners  arrived  generally  without  escort,  and  it 
was  often  the  case  that  old  men  and  even  women  of  the 
peasantry  were  seen  leading  them,  or  rather  showing  them 
the  way, — two  or  three  peasants,  perhaps,  with  twenty 
prisoners.  This  continual  influx  of  prisoners  gave  a  name 
in  fact  to  that  interval  of  time,  which  was  referred  to,  as 
*  the  Period  of  the  Prisoners.'  The  inhabitants  of  Warsaw 
found  an  amusement  in  witnessing  this  continual  arrival  of 
the  captured  Russians.  *  Let  us  go  to  Praga,  to  see  the  pri- 
soners brought  in,'  was  a  proposition  often  made,  as  re- 
ferring to  an  ordinary  recreation  which  might  be  counted  on 
with  perfect  certainty.  If,  for  a  half  day,  no  prisoners  ap- 
peared, the  complaint  would  be  sportively  made,  '  What  is 
Mr  John  about,  (referring  to  Skrzynecki)  that  he  sends  us 
no  prisoners  to-day  V 

The  great  number  of  the  prisoners  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  national  government.  It  was  impossible  to  leave 
them  all  at  Warsaw  ;  and  they  were  at  first  divided  into 
three  parts,  one  of  which  remained  in  Warsaw  to  work 
upon  the  fortifications,  and  every  soldier  Was  paid  for  his 
labor.  The  second  part  being  also  employed  upon  wages, 
labored  on  the  great  roads  leading  from  Warsaw,  in  a  di- 
rection opposite  to  the  seat  of  the  war.  The  third  part 
were  dispersed  among  the  farmers  in  the  proportion  of  one 
Russian  for  three  farmers ;  and  these  were  also  paid  for 
their  labor.  At  stated  times,  an  assemblage  of  the  prisoners 
was  held,  in  which  they  were  addressed  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  produce  a  moral  effect  upon  them.  They  were  in- 
structed in  the  true  nature  of  their  political  rights,  the  real 
causes  of  the  contest  were  exhibited  to  them,  and  they  were 
made  to  be  convinced  that  it  was  for  their  advantage  as 
well  as  our  own  that  we  were  fighting. 

The 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  253 

US,  they  lost  as  many  as  sixty  pieces.  It  may  then 
be  presumed  that  the  Russian  army  remained  at 
between  130,000  and  150,000  men,  and  about 
240  pieces  of  cannon,  not  estimating,  however, 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  do,  the  number 
of  cannon  which  might  have  been  dismounted. 
Our  army,  which  was  reorganized  at  Warsaw, 
after  its  losses,  was  brought  to  about  the  same 
state  as  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  that  is, 
about  40,000  strong.  The  artillery  was  now  aug- 
mented to  140  pieces. 

Although  the  enemy's  force  was  still  sufficiently 
imposing,  the  reader  will  permit  me  to  say,  (and 
in  fact  we  did  reasonably  calculate  thus)  that  as 
we  had  fought  with  such  success  against  the  ene- 
my in  his  unimpaired  strength,  we  might  with 
confidence  promise  ourselves  a  certain  issue  of  the 
conflict  in  our  favor,  when,  with  his  forces  thus  di- 
minished in  numbers,  sick,  discouraged,  and  discon- 
tented, we  could  meet  him  with  the  same  and 
even  a  stronger  force  than  that  with  which  we 
had  already  been  victorious,  animated  too,  as  we 
now  were,  by  the  inspiriting  influence  of  our  past 
success,  and  aided  by  the  terror  with  which  our 
arms  had  inspired  the  enemy. 

The  greatest  harmony  reigned  between  the  Poles  and  their 
prisoners ;  and  I  am  sure  that  those  Russians  will  remember 
the  days  they  passed  as  prisoners,  as  the  happiest  in  their 
lives.  With  us  their  prison  was  a  state  of  freedom  and 
tranquillity,  in  which  they  received  a  liberal  reward  for  their 
labor,  while  in  their  own  country  they  were  the  slaves  of 
despots,  great  and  little,  to  whom  obedience  was  enforced 
by  the  knout. 

32 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Position  of  the  two  armies  after  the  battle  of  Iganie. — Plan  of  a  simul- 
taneous attack  upon  the  Russian  forces  upon  opposite  sides. — Instruc- 
tions to  the  different  corps. — Operations  on  the  enemy's  front. — Un- 
fortunate operations  of  general  Sierawski,  and  the  first  defeat. — De- 
tails of  those  operations. — Operations  of  general  Dwernicki. — He  de- 
feats Rudiger  ;  but  by  a  false  operation  exposes  himself  to  be  attacked 
disadvantageously  by  two  Russian  corps. — In  the  course  of  the  action 
the  Austrian  froniier  is  passed  by  the  combatants. — An  Austrian  force 
interposes,  and  general  Dwernicki  consents  to  go  into  camp. — His 
arms  and  prisoners  are  taken  from  him,  while  the  enemy  is  permitted 
to  leave  the  territory  freely. — Reflections  on  the  conduct  of  Austria. — 
Consequences  of  the  loss  of  Dwernicki's  corps. — The  cholera  makes 
its  appearance  in  the  two  armies. 

The  positions  of  the  two  armies,  \_See  Plan 
XXII,]  were  now  as  follows: — The  Russian  army 
was  divided  into  four  principal  bodies,  having  no 
communication  with  each  other.  First,  their  main 
body  (a),  consisting  of  about  60,000  men  and  130 
pieces  of  cannon,  were  between  Lukow  (1)  and 
Cock  (2).  Secondly,  the  remains  of  the  corps  of 
Rosen  and  Giesmar  (b)  were  at  Siedlce  (3). 
They  could  be  counted  at  about  20,000  men  and 
perhaps  50  pieces  of  cannon.  Thirdly,  at  Ostro- 
lenka  (4)  was  the  Imperial  guard  (t),  consisting  of 
18,000  men  and  SQ  cannon.  Fourthly,  in  the 
palatinate  of  Lublin,  were  the  combined  corps  of 
Witt  and  Kreutz  (d)^  consisting  of  30,000  men 
and  60  pieces  of  cannon.  Their  different  scat- 
tered detachments  might  be  counted  at  10,000 
men.  This  separation  of  their  different  corps  in- 
vited a  sudden  attack  on  either,  before  it  could 
receive  succor  from  the  others. 

Our  main  body  (e),  composed  of  four  divisions 


-^- 


\   J 


^A^ 


A  alLn  z» 


ffiZZl.;..9.43 


"A 


i\  \  v.  I  ;•  i)  ;}  M  I   \ 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  255 

of  infantry,  and  three  of  cavalry,  making  in  all 
about  30,000  men  and  80  pieces  of  cannon,  w^as 
placed  between  Iganie  (5)  and  Siennica  (6).  Our 
reconnoissances  were  pushed  along  the  left  bank 
of  the  river  Liwiec  (L),  as  far  as  its  junction  with 
the  river  Bug  (B).  On  the  right,  those  recon- 
noissances reached  Zelechow  (7).  This  was 
nearly  the  same  as  our  first  position,  and  it  was 
strong.  Besides  this  main  force,  was  the  division 
of  cavalry  of  general  Uminski  (/)  upon  the  Vight 
bank  of  the  Narew,  at  Nasielsk  (8),  amounting  to 
3,200  horse  and  24  pieces  of  artillery,  placed  there 
to  observe  the  Russian  guard.  In  the  environs  of 
Pulawy  (9)  was  a  small  partizan  corps,  under  the 
command  of  general  Sierawski  (g),  with  3,000 
men  and  four  pieces  of  cannon.  The  corps  of 
general  Dwernicki  (h)  was  in  the  environs  of 
Zamosc,  (10)  and  consisted  of  4500  men,  and  30 
pieces  of  cannon.  This  corps,  though  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  rest  of  our  forces,  could  not  be  cut 
off,  having  the  fortress  of  Zamosc  as  a  point  d^ap^ 
pui.  If  the  reader  will  examine  a  map  of  the 
country,  or  even  the  small  plan  in  the  preceding 
pages  [No,  VI,  or  XXII,]  he  will  be  satisfied  that 
by  our  forces,  small  as  they  were,  the  Russian 
army  was  already  surrounded,  and  that  on  the 
least  advantage  which  Dwernicki,  in  conjunction 
with  Sierawski,  might  gain  over  Witt  and  Kreutz, 
that  army  could  have  been  taken  in  the  rear,  by 
means  of  a  diversion  upon  Kock  (2)  and  Radzyn 
(11).     In  a  word,  the  moment  approached  at  which 


256  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

our  commander  had  determined  to  give  the  enemy 
a  last  decisive  blow,  by  attacking  him  at  the  same 
time  on  every  side  ;  arid  for  this  object,  the  fol- 
lowing instructions  and  orders  were  given. 

First.  The  generalissimo  renewed  the  order  for 
streng-thenino;  the  fortifications  of  Warsaw  and 
Praga,  as  well  as  those  on  the  whole  plain  of 
Grochow.  From  the  first  day  of  April,  as  many  as 
5000  Russian  prisoners  were  continually  employed 
upon  those  fortifications.  Warsaw,  which  was 
already,  as  the  reader  is  informed,  defended  by  a 
girdle  of  lunettes  and  redoubts,  communicating 
with  each  other,  received  the  additional  defence 
in  some  places  of  block-houses.  To  strengthen 
the  fortifications  of  Praga,  besides  the  bridge-head, 
there  were  constructed,  within  the  distance  of  an 
English  mile,  a  line  of  circumvallation,  which 
could  hold  more  than  twelve  thousand  men.  Still 
farther,  at  a  distance  of  two  miles  beyond,  or 
nearly  upon  the  field  of  Grochow,  was  constructed 
a  third  line  of  lunettes  and  redoubts,  which  occu- 
pied the  whole  distance  from  Kawenczyn  to  the 
marshes  of  Goclaw,  or  the  entire  field  of  battle  of 
Grochow,  as  seen  in  the  plan  of  that  battle.  In 
fine,  the  approach  to  Praga  was  so  defended,  that 
the  enemy,  before  reaching  it,  would  have  to  pass 
three  different  lines  of  fortification.  The  general 
in  chief  gave  instructions  to  the  governor  of  War- 
saw in  regard  to  the  defence  of  the  city,  in  which 
he  placed  his  chief  trust  upon  the  national  guard. 
The  guard  counted  it  an  honor  to  be   entrusted 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  257 

with  this  duty,  and  were  unwilling  that  a  single 
soldier  of  the  regular  army  should  be  detailed  for 
the  service.  How  admirably  they  executed  their 
noble  resolutions,  when  the  occasion  came,  is 
probably  well  known  to  every  reader. 

After  his  plans  for  the  defence  of  Warsaw  were 
communicated  to  the  authorities  of  the  city,  he 
gave  particular  attention  to  those  points  on  which 
he  intended  to  support  all  his  operations,  and,  re- 
lying on  which,  he  could  at  any  time  hazard  the 
boldest  attempts.  Having  thus  made  Warsaw  an 
axis,  upon  which  all  his  operations  could  revolve, 
he  proceeded  to  arrange  his  attack.  In  the  first 
place  he  sent  orders  to  general  Dwernicki  (h)  to 
attack  immediately  the  combined  corps  of  generals 
Witt  and  Kreutz  (d).  In  this  attack  the  small 
corps  of  general  Sierawski  (g)  was  to  aid,  and  the 
two  corps  were  to  preserve  a  constant  communica- 
tion with  each  other.  For  that  object  general 
Sierawski  was  to  pass  the  Vistula  at  Kazimierz 
(12),  and,  avoiding  an  engagement  with  the  ene- 
my, to  endeavor  to  join,  as  soon  as  possible,  the 
corps  of  general  Dwernicki,  who  received  orders 
to  leave  Zamosc  and  approach  Lublin  (13).  These 
two  corps  were  to  take  such  a  position,  that  they 
could  at  any  time  retire  upon  Zamosc  or  Kazimierz. 
General  Dwernicki  was  also  informed  that  a  third 
small  corps  would  be  sent  in  the  direction  of  Zele- 
chow  (7)  and  Kock  (2),  to  act  in  concert  with  him 
on  the  enemy's  rear.  If  they  should  succeed  in 
the  attack,  general  Dwernicki  was  to  endeavor  to 


258  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

force  the  enemy  to  take  the  direction  of  Pulawy 
(9),  to  drive  him  into  the  angle  formed  by  the 
Vistula  (V)  and  the  Wieprz  (P)  ;  in  fine,  so  to  act 
as  to  cut  off  those  two  corps  from  all  communica- 
tion whatever  with  their  main  body.  Leaving  the 
corps  of  general  Sierawski  to  continue  to  ob- 
serve them,  and  to  push  his  advantages  over  them, 
Dwernicki  himself  was  to  pass  the  Wieprz  at 
Kock,  and  from  thence  by  forced  marches  to  leave 
in  the  direction  of  Radzyn  (11)  for  Lukow  (1)  or 
Seroczyn  (14),  as  circumstances  might  direct,  and 
according  as  he  should  ascertain  the  position  of 
the  enemy  to  be.  Arrived  at  Lukow  or  Seroczyn, 
as  the  case  might  be,  he  was  to  await  there  the 
orders  of  the  general  in  chief,  to  join  in  the"  attack 
upon  the  main  force  of  the  enemy  under  Diebitsch 
(e),  in  which  attack  he  was  to  act  on  the  enemy's 
left  wing.  The  main  body  of  the  enemy,  thus 
taken  in  front  and  in  flank,  simultaneously,  could 
not  but  have  been  broken  up.  For  all  these  opera- 
tions the  general  in  chief  had  destined  fourteen 
days  only. 

On  the  night  of  the  battle  of  Iganie,  the  general 
in  chief  having  decided  upon  the  above  plan,  sent 
officers  in  every  direction  with  orders  and  instruc- 
tions. The  officers  sent  to  the  corps  of  general 
Dwernicki  were  enjoined  to  communicate  their 
orders  to  him  with  the  utmost  haste. 

The  generalissimo,  while  making  his  prepara- 
tions for  this  last  blow,  continued  an  unremitting 
observation  upon  all  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  259 

even  to  the  minutest  details,  and  in  order  that  the 
enemy  might  be  constantly  occupied,  and  diverted 
from  suspecting  our  plans,  he  directed  small  attacks 
to  be  continually  made  upon  his  front.  For  this 
object  the  second  division,  posted  at  Siennica,  re- 
ceived orders  to  advance  to  the  small  tow^n  of  Je- 
ruzalem.  The  division,  in  executing  that  order, 
fought  the  enemy  for  three  successive  days,  the 
12th,  13th  and  14th  of  April,  at  Jedlina,  Wodynie, 
and  Plomieniece,  and  always  with  advantage.  In 
one  of  those  attacks,  at  Jedlina,  a  small  detach- 
ment of  sixteen  Krakus  attacked  a  squadron  of 
Russian  hussars,  coming  from  Wodynie,  dispersed 
them,  and  took  some  twenty  prisoners.  This  di- 
vision received  also  the  order  to  communicate  con- 
stantly with  the  corps  of  general  Pac  at  Zelechow. 
This  last  general  was  to  send  continual  reconnois- 
sances  towards  Kock,  to  keep  a  constant  observa- 
tion upon  the  Russian  corps  of  Kreutz  and  Witt. 
Of  the  movements  of  those  two  corps,  the  general- 
issimo was  each  day  to  receive  the  most  accurate 
information,  in  order  to  be  ready  prepared  to  pre- 
vent, at  any  moment,  a  junction  which  might  be 
attempted  between  those  corps  and  their  main 
body. 

General  Skrzynecki,  seeing  that  the  enemy  had 
fallen  into  his  plan,  (of  which,  indeed,  he  could 
not  have  had  the  least  suspicion,)  and  full  of  the 
brightest  hopes,  waited  impatiently  in  his  strong 
position,  for  intelligence  from  general  Dwernicki, 
and  the  approach   of  the  moment  for  his  attack 


260  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

upon  Diebitsch.  Almost  sure  of  the  successful 
execution  of  his  admirable  arrangements,  what  can 
express  his  disappointment  on  hearing  of  the  un- 
fortunate operations  of  the  corps  of  general  Sieraw- 
ski,  and  of  the  defeat  of  that  corps  at  Kazimierz 
in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin,  the  first  defeat  in  the 
ivhole  war.  That  general,  in  neglecting  the  in- 
structions of  the  commander  in  chief,  not  to  engage 
with  the  enemy,  on  account  of  the  inferiority  of  his 
own  forces,  (with  which  forces  in  fact  he  could  not 
expect  to  act  but  in  partizan  warfare,)  approached 
Lublin,  where  the  two  corps  of  Kreutz  and  Witt 
were  supposed  to  be  posted,  while  his  orders  were, 
by  avoiding  those  corps,  and  taking  the  most  cir- 
cuitous roads,  to  endeavor  to  join  as  secretly  and 
as  soon  as  possible,  the  corps  of  Dwernicki.  He 
was  probably  deceived  by  false  information  as  to 
the  direction  of  the  enemy's  corps,  and  led  to  be- 
lieve that  those  two  corps  had  quitted  Lublin,  to 
attack  general  Dwernicki  at  Zamosc.  He  there- 
fore probably  took  the  direction  of  Lublin,  with 
the  idea  of  acting  upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy  at 
the  moment  of  his  attack  upon  Dwernicki.  In 
this  manner  general  Sierawski,  quitting  Kazimi- 
erz, arrived  on  the  16th  of  April  at  Belzyca.  To 
his  great  astonishment  he  found  there  a  strong  ad- 
vanced guard  of  the  above  mentioned  corps.  To 
avoid  compromitting  himself,  he  engaged  with  this 
advanced  guard,  when,  observing  the  very  superior 
force  and  the  advantageous  position  of  the  enemy, 
he  ordered  a  retreat,  which  retreat  was  well  exe- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  261 

cuted  and  without  much  loss.  This  general  should 
have  continued  his  march  the  whole  night,  with  as 
little  delay  as  possible,  in  order  to  repass  quietly 
the  Vistula,  and  thus  be  protected  from  all  moles- 
tation by  the  enemy.  But,  for  what  cause  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  conjecture,  he  awaited  the 
enemy  in  order  of  battle  the  next  day,  at  Serauow. 
Perhaps,  finding  himself  in  rather  a  strong  position, 
he  thought  that  the  corps  of  general  Dwernicki 
might  arrive  to  his  aid.  The  enemy  approached 
the  next  day  with  his  whole  force  against  Sieraw- 
ski,  and  as  warm  an  action  commenced  as  the  na- 
ture of  the  ground  would  admit,  it  being  covered 
by  woods  with  patches  of  open  ground  intervening. 
Some  squadrons  of  young  Kaliszian  cavalry,  led  by 
the  general  himself,  advanced  to  the  attack  of  the 
enemy's  artillery,  which  being  disadvantageously 
posted  J  was  exposed  to  be  captured.  That  caval- 
ry, however,  by  a  false  direction  of  their  charge, 
fell  among  the  concealed  masses  of  the  enemy's 
infantry,  and  their  attack  failed. 

This  unsuccessful  attack  had  unfortunate  results. 
The  corps  of  general  Sierawski  was  obliged  to 
evacuate  its  position,  and  along  its  whole  retro- 
grade march  continual  attacks  of  the  enemy  were 
pressed  upon  it.  The  peculiar  nature  of  the  ground, 
and  the  extreme  brevity  of  general  Sierawski,  a 
veteran  of  between  sixty  and  seventy,  who,  at  the 
head  of  the  detachments  of  his  rear  guard  always 
led  the  charges  against  the  enemy,  and  held  him 
in  check,  was  all  that  saved  the  corps  from  destruc- 
33 


262  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

tion.  At  length  the  corps  reached  Kazimierz, 
the  point  which  it  had  left ;  and  here  again,  instead 
of  passing  the  Vistula,  Sierawski  awaited  another 
attack  from  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  that  too  with  only  the  half  of  his  corps,  for  the 
other  half  was  sent  to  pass  the  Vistula.  This 
course  was  inexplicable,  and  excited  much  remark 
in  the  army.  On  the  18th,  the  Russians  reached 
Kazimierz.  The  town  was  vigorously  attacked 
by  them,  and  their  assaults  were  repeatedly  re- 
pulsed by  the  new  Kazimierz  infantry,  under 
colonel  Malachowski,  who,  with  a  scythe  in  his 
hand,  marched  at  their  head.  But  the  death  of 
that  brave  patriot  spread  among  the  ranks  of  those 
new  soldiers  a  degree  of  disorder,  and  the  city  was 
taken  by  the  enemy.  We  must  again  thank  gen- 
eral Sierawski  for  having  saved  the  rest  of  the. 
corps  from  ruin ;  having  executed  the  evacuation 
of  the  town  with  such  order  that  he  passed  the 
Vistula  at  the  point  of  Borowa,  not  far  from  Kazi- 
mierz, without  being  molested  in  the  attempt. 
He  then  took  a  position  on  the  left  bank. 

Although  the  unfortunate  affairs  of  those  two 
days  were  not  attended  by  severe  losses,  yet  they 
were  deeply  afflictive  to  the  general  in  chief. 
They  threatened  the  entire  disarrangement  of  his 
plans,  and  were  followed  by  the  more  important 
disasters  of  general  Dwernicki.  The  latter  gen- 
eral, who,  as  is  known  to  the  reader,  commenced 
his  career  so  gloriously;  whose  very  name,  indeed, 
was  a  terror  to  the  Russians,  and  who,  by  his  sue- 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  263 

cessive  victories  over  the  three  corps  of  Kreutz, 
Wirtemberg,  and  Rudiger,  had  established  the 
strongest  claims  upon  the  gratitude  of  his  country, 
—  this  general,  I  must  repeat  it  w^ith  pain,  finished 
his  great  career  in  the  most  unfortunate  manner. 
His  case  should  serve  as  a  strong  example,  that  it 
is  not  bravery  alone  w^hich  is  required  in  a  great 
general,  for  in  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  his 
equal,  but  that  this  bravery  loses  its  value  v^hen 
not  united  with  circumspection. 

The  following  are  the  details  of  the  operations 
of  general  Dwernicki.  [^See  Plan  No.  XXIII. ] 
We  cannot  well  imagine  the  cause  which  induced 
that  general  to  quit  Zamosc  (1),  and  the  important 
operations  in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin,  and,  neg- 
lecting all  his  instructions  and  orders,  to  have 
crossed  the  Bug  (B)  and  entered  the  province  of 
Volhynia,  unless  it  were  the  reception  of  some  cer- 
tain news  of  a  fresh  insurrection  in  that  province, 
and  of  the  collection  of  insurgent  forces  there, 
who  might  be  waiting  for  his  approach,  and  who 
needed  his  protection.  He  might,  perhaps,  have 
thought  to  be  able  so  to  accelerate  his  movement 
as  to  avail  himself  of  such  new  strength  before  a 
superior  Russian  force  should  arrive  in  that  pro- 
vince to  crush  such  insurrection,  and  disperse  the 
insurgents.  At  the  moment  when  Dwernicki 
might  have  conceived  such  a  plan,  there  was,  in 
fact,  only  a  corps  of  about  12,000  men  and  some 
20  pieces  of  cannon,  under  Rudiger,  in  the  pro- 
vince.    This  corps,  Dwernicki  perhaps  intended  to 


264  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

attack,  in  his  way,  and  crush  them,  and  then  at- 
taching the  insurgents  to  his  corps,  to  return  to  the 
palatinate,  or  if  circumstances  might  make  it  expe- 
dient, to  follow  up  his  blow  into  the  heart  of  Vol- 
hjnia.  In  fine,  on  the  15th  of  April,  this  general 
quitted  the  environs  of  Zamosc,  taking  the  direction 
of  Uscilog  (2),  where,  on  the  evening  of  the  16th, 
he  passed  the  river  Bug.  On  the  17th  he  con- 
tinued his  march  in  the  direction  of  Dubno  (3), 
where  the  insurgents  were  perhaps  supposed  to  be 
awaiting  him.  On  the  road  to  that  town  he  re- 
ceived information  that  the  corps  of  Rudiger  had 
marched  from  Radziwilow  (4)  and  was  now  in  the 
direction  of  Milatyn  (5).  General  Dwernicki 
turned  immediately  from  the  direction  in  which  he 
was  marching,  to  throw  himself  upon  this  corps, 
which  he  found  on  its  march,  at  the  village  of  Bo- 
romel  (6),  where,  without  giving  the  enemy  time 
to  take  position,  he  attacked  and  overthrew  him. 
The  enemy  was  routed,  and  lost  several  hundred 
in  killed  and  prisoners,  with  eight  pieces  of  cannon. 
That  in  this  fine,  and  the  last  fine  battle  of  Dwer- 
nicki, the  Russian  corps  was  not  wholly  destroyed, 
was  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  a  branch  of  the 
river  Styr  (S),  over  which  the  bridge  had  been  de- 
stroyed, stopped  our  pursuit.  The  Russians,  dur- 
ing the  night  of  the  18th,  evacuated  their  position, 
and  took  the  road  to  Beresteczko  (7),  where  they 
took  a  new  position.  In  regard  to  tactics,  the 
corps  of  general  Rudiger  could  not  have  chosen  a 
worse  direction  than  that  of  the  angle  formed  by 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  265 

the  river  Styr,  and  the.  frontier  of  Austria  (F). 
General  Dvrernicki,  by  a  passage  to  the  right  bank 
of  the  Styr,  could  have  cut  off  all  the  enemy's 
communications  w^ith  his  other  corps,  and  could 
have  again  fought  him  at  the  greatest  advantage. 
It  was  here  then  that  our  brave  Dwernicki  com- 
mitted his  great  fault,  and  in  place  of  acting  upon 
the  right  bank  of  the  river,  where  he  would  have 
had  an  open  field  for  the  most  enlarged  operations, 
he  chose  to  follow  up  the  attack ;  and  as  he  saw 
that  the  enemy  could  not  be  safely  assailed  in 
front,  on  account  of  his  strong  position  between 
two  small  lakes,  but  found  that  this  position  was 
open  towards  the  frontier  of  Austria,  —  there  it  was 
that  the  unhappy  idea  occurred  to  him,  of  marching 
to  the  environs  of  Kolodno  (8),  on  the  frontier  of 
Austria,  and  attacking  the  enemy  on  that  side, 
feeling  sure  of  victory.  But  general  Rudiger  did 
not  wait  for  this  attack.  Perceiving  his  exposed 
position  between  the  river  and  the  frontier,  he  was 
satisfied  with  being  permitted  to  escape,  and  de- 
clined battle.  Upon  observing  that  general  Dwer- 
nicki was  manoeuvring  upon  the  frontiers  of  Aus- 
tria, general  Rudiger  repassed  the  Styr,  avoided 
the  attack  by  this  manoeuvre,  and  was  in  a  situa- 
tion to  join  himself  with  all  the  Russian  detach- 
ments which  might  come  into  the  province  from 
the  heart  of  Russia,  by  the  different  directions  of 
Krzemieniece,  Ostrog,  &c,  and  to  act  with  them 
in  surrounding  Dwernicki,  who  was  confined  in 
this  above  described  angle.  This  is  what  in  fact 
took  place. 


266  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

Dwernicki  remained,  for  what  reason  we  cannot 
conceive,  at  Kolodno  until  the  23d  of  April,  whence, 
following  along  the  frontiers  of  Austria,  he  took  the 
direction  of  Wereszczaki  (9).  There  dispersing  a 
Russian  detachment,  he  arrived  on  the  26th  at 
Knielce  and  Wielkie  (10).  Knowing  that  the 
Russians  were  observing  him,  he  determined  to 
remain  there  and  take  advantage  of  a  strong  natu- 
ral position.  He  wished  in  this  position  to  await 
the  enemy  and  give  him  battle,  hoping  by  a  victory 
to  free  himself  from  the  contracted  space  in  which 
he  was  confined.  In  fact,  on  the  next  day,  the 
corps  of  general  Rudiger  (6)  made  its  appearance, 
having  come  in  the  direction  of  Krzemienic  (11). 
The  battle  commenced,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
action  another  Russian  corps  (c)  was  seen  ap- 
proaching in  the  direction  of  Proskirow  (12)  and 
Stary-Konstantynow  (13)  under  the  command  of 
general  Rott,  acting  thus  upon  the  right  wing  and 
even  the  rear  of  general  Dwernicki's  corps.  To 
avoid  being  turned,  general  Dwernicki  retired  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  lean  his  right  wing  upon  the 
Austrian  frontier.  The  Russians,  not  regarding 
this,  passed  that  frontier,  and  proceeded  to  push 
their  attack  upon  his  flank.  This  obliged  general 
Dwernicki  to  withdraw  his  left  wing,  and  indeed 
his  whole  front,  upon  the  Austrian  territory,  where, 
in  fact,  the  line  was  not  distinctly  marked,  all  the 
while  being  engaged  with  the  enemy.  The  action 
having  continued  thus  for  some  hours,  a  detach- 
ment of  Austrian  cavalry,  under  colonel  Fac,  ap- 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  267 

proached  and  threw  themselves  between  the  com- 
batants, calling  on  them  to  respect  the  neutrality 
of  the  territory.  In  this  manner  the  combat 
ceased.  General  Dwernicki  gave  his  parole  to  dis- 
continue hostilities,  and  consented  to  advance  far- 
ther into  the  interior,  and,  placing  himself  in  camp, 
waited  the  result  of  the  decision  of  the  Austrian 
government  upon  what  had  occurred.  The  Rus- 
sian corps,  which  had  just  passed  the  frontier,  and 
which  had  in  fact  entered  it  with  its  whole  force, 
was  permitted  to  leave  freely.  The  first  duty 
which  general  Dwernicki  thought  imposed  upon 
him  in  his  present  situation,  was  to  make  a  full 
and  true  report  of  what  had  occurred  to  the  Na- 
tional Government  and  the  general  in  chief,  which 
he  was  permitted  to  do.  He  also  sent  a  letter  to 
the  commander  in  chief  of  the  Austrian  forces  in. 
Gallicia,  explaining  how  it  was  that,  in  a  neces- 
sary manoeuvre  he  had  passed  over  a  point  of  land 
on  the  Austrian  territory  without  the  intention  of 
occupying  it.  Having  done  this,  he  supposed 
that  he  would  be  permitted  to  remain  in  camp, 
retaining  his  own  arms,  those  taken  from  the  ene- 
my, and  his  prisoners,  until  conferences  between 
the  governments  should  decide  respecting  the 
course  to  be  taken.  But  the  Austrian  government, 
far  from  giving  such  a  reasonable  permission,  col- 
lected a  strong  corps  in  the  environs  of  Tarnopol, 
and  the  Austrian  commander  in  chief  demanded  of 
general  Dwernicki  to  surrender  both  his  own  arms 
and  those  taken  from  the  enemy.     General  Dwer- 


268  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

nicki,  although  this  Austrian  corps  was  not  formid- 
able to  him,  yet  being  anxious  to  avoid  the  serious 
political  consequences  v^hich  might  possibly  follow 
resistance,  submitted  to  this  unjust  demand,  which 
will  be  an  eternal  reproach  to  the  Austrian  govern- 
ment. The  Austrians  returned  their  arms  to  the 
Russian  prisoners,  whom  they  liberated,  and  retain- 
ed the  arms  of  the  Polish  troops.  The  whole  corps 
was  conducted  into  the  interior,  and  thus  ended 
the  career  of  that  important  body  of  our  forces.* 

The  conduct  of  Austria,  in  regard  to  the  corps  of 
Dwernicki,  I  am  sure  will  excite  the  indignation 
of  the  reader.  If  general  Dwernicki  had  entered 
upon  the  Austrian  territory,  he  was  forced  to  do  it 
by  the  Russian  corps,  which  had  already  passed 
the  frontier  ;  and  that  cannot  be  regarded  as  an 
intentional  invasion  of  the  frontiers  which  was 
done  without  design,  and  was  a  mere  transition 

*  This  unfortunate  and  painful  event  should  serve  as  an 
impressive  example,  which  cannot  be  too  often  brought  to 
mind,  of  v^^hat  disastrous  consequences  may  follow  from  the 
neglect  of  observing  a  constant  communication  between 
corps  acting  together,  and,  above  all,  the  departing  from 
orders  which  are  given  upon  a  general  plan,  the  absolute 
control  of  which  should  belong  to  the  general  in  chief. 
Had  general  Dwernicki,  conforming  to  his  instructions, 
acted  only  against  the  corps  of  Kreutz  and  Witt,  and  in 
concert  with  the  corps  of  Sierawski,  he  would  have  been 
apprised  of  that  general's  quitting  Kazimierz,  and  both  of 
those  two  corps  could  have  joined  in  the  attack,  in  which 
they  would  have  been  aided  by  another  corps  which  was  to 
be  sent,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  to  act  against  the  enemy's 
rear.  If  those  corps  of  Kreutz  and  Witt  had  been  de- 
feated, immense  advantages  would  have  followed ;  indeed 
the  war  would  have  been  over,  for  the  Russian  main  army 
would  have  been  taken  in  flank  and  rear,  and,  in  fact,  com- 
pletely cut  off. 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  269 

over  an  indistinct  line,  made  necessary  by  the  po- 
sition which  the  enemy  had  taken.  Such  a  case 
certainly  should  have  formed  an  exception  to  a 
general  rule.  To  the  Russian  corps  all  the  prison- 
ers were  returned,  without  any  consent  obtained 
from  our  government,  to  whom  they,  in  fact,  be- 
longed, and  should  have  been  considered  as  belong- 
ing, until  the  end  of  the  war. 

It  was  in  this  manner  that  those  intriguing  cabi- 
nets repaid  the  debt  of  gratitude  which  they  owed 
to  Poland.  They  had  forgotten  the  times  of  John 
Sobieski,  who,  in  1683,  delivered  their  capital, 
and  their  whole  territory,  from  destruction  at  the 
hands  of  the  Turks.  They  had  forgotten  that 
they  thus  owe  their  very  existence  to  Poland. 

At  present,  regardless  of  all  obligations  of  jus- 
tice, they  concert  with  our  enemy  for  our  ruin. 
But  if  by  this  unjust  treatment  of  their  benefac- 
tors, the  .  Austrians  may  have  gained  some  tempo- 
rary advantages,  the  reader  will  acknowledge  that 
in  reference  to  their  ultimate  good,  they  have  acted 
with  a  most  short-sighted  and  mistaken  policy. 
The  aggrandizement  of  Russia  can  never  be  an 
advantage  to  Austria. 

There  were  few  more  melancholy  events  in  our 
war  than  this.  The  disaster  of  this  corps  griev- 
ously paralyzed  all  the  fine  plans  of  the  general  in 
chief.  It  reinforced  the  Russian  superior  force  by 
40,000  men  ;  —  for  the  different  corps  of  Kreutz, 
Witt,  Rudiger  and  Rott,  could  now  rejoin  their 
main  army  without  obstruction. 
34 


270  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

To  these  disasters  of  the  two  corps  of  Dwer- 
nicki  and  Sierawski,  which  were  deeply  felt  by 
the  nation,  was  now  to  be  added  the  appearance  of 
that  horrible  malady,  the  cholera,  which  after  the 
battle  of  Iganie  commenced  its  devastations  in  our 
ranks.  On  the  night  of  that  battle  several  hun- 
dreds of  our  troops  fell  sick.  This  terrible  disease 
caused  us,  on  the  first  few  days,  the  loss  of  nearly 
1 ,000  men  ;  but  if  it  was  terrible  with  us,  nothing 
can  express  the  suffering  it  produced  in  the  Rus- 
sian camp,  aided  hy  the  want  of  comfort  in  the 
arrangements  of  that  camp,  and  the  acid  food  upon 
which  the  Russian  soldiers  were  habitually  fed. 
Thousands  of  those  wretched  sufferers  were  left 
exposed  to  the  open  air,  and  died  upon  the  field. 
The  Poles  took  even  more  care  of  them  than  of 
their  own  sick.  They  were  brought  together,  and 
transported  to  Menie,  where  there  was  a  large 
convent,  which  was  turned  into  an  hospital  for  their 
use.  The  total  number  of  those  sufferers  may  be 
imagined,  when  it  is  stated,  that,  in  that  hospital 
and  village  alone,  two  thousand  Russian  sick  were 
reported. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Russian  commander  resumes  offensive  operations. — Object  of  the 
attack  of  the  25th  of  April. — Combat  of  Kuflew. — General  Dembin- 
ski  evacuates  the  position  of  Kuflew  and  awaits  the  enemy  at  Bady. 
— Battle  of  Minsk. — The  enemy  suddenly  evacuates  his  position. — 
Reflections  on  this  stage  of  the  conflict. — Positions  of  the  two  armies. 

The  Russian  main  army,  which,  since  the  last  of 
March  had  been  on  the  defensive,  from  weakness 
or  from  indecision,  on  the  23d  of  April  began  to 
change  its  position,  and  to  take  the  offensive. 
Having  received  intelligence,  as  we  may  suppose, 
of  the  disasters  of  Sierawski,  and  also  of  the  pas- 
sage of  general  Dwernicki  into  Volhynia,  general 
Diebitsch  gave  orders  to  the  corps  of  Witt  and 
Kreutz  to  pass  the  Wieprz  at  Kock,  and  to  attack 
our  detachment  at  Zelechow,  which  was  forced  to 
retire.  On  the  same  day,  (23d)  the  brigade  of 
colonel  Dembinski  was  attacked  at  Jeruzalem, 
without  any  decisive  result.  Those  small  attacks 
by  the  enemy  served,  however,  as  an  indication  of 
the  intention  of  general  Diebitsch  to  take  the  of- 
fensive on  a  larger  scale.  To  meet  this  intention, 
all  our  detachments  received  orders  to  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness.  Firstly,  these  detachments 
were  to  concentrate  themselves  upon  a  line  of  ope- 
rations, between  Kaluszyn,  Siennica,  and  Zele- 
chow. [The  reader  can  refer  to  Plan  VI.]  The 
whole  line,  in  case  of  attack,  on  whatever  quarter 
it  might  be,  was  to  make  a  retrograde  movement, 
upon  the  same  plan  as  heretofore,  as  far  as  the  field 


272  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

of  Wawr.  General  Pac,  in  particular,  who  was 
the  farthest  removed  from  Zelechow,  was  to  use 
the  utmost  vigilance,  and  to  make  this  retrograde 
movement  in  the  promptest  manner,  when  occasion 
required. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  in  fact,  marshal  Diebitsch 
commenced  his  attack  at  two  principal  points,  Boi- 
mie  and  Kuflew.  Upon  the  last  of  these  two 
points,  he  threw  his  greatest  force,  intending  to 
pierce  our  line  there,  and  by  a  diversion  at  Minsk 
to  divide  our  forces.  Besides  the  prevention  of 
this  design,  the  defence  of  Kuflew  was  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  us  from  the  circumstance 
that  along  the  whole  course  of  the  river  Swider,  at 
Latowicz,  Starygrod,  &c,  were  posted  various 
small  detachments,  which  would  have  been  cut  off, 
if  we  should  be  forced  to  make  a  sudden  evacua- 
tion of  that  point. 


COMBAT  OF   KUFLEW.     [See  Plan   XXIV.] 

This  combat  deserved  to  be  forever  held  up  as 
an  example  in  tactics,  to  show  how  much  can  be 
done  with  a  small  force,  managed  with  prudence 
and  skill.  Colonel  Dembinski,  who,  in  this  battle, 
commanded  the  inconsiderable  forces  that  met  the 
attack  of  the  masses  of  Diebitsch,  well  merited  the 
rank  of  general,  to  which  he  was  then  advanced. 
Our  position  was  covered  by  the  river  Swider  (S) 
and  its  marshes,  which  secured  it  from  being  taken 


*  /!  ;f  a  n  \ 


V 


A  ''-^^' 


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M\iil)>^^' 


p?l/(l///-^ 


■•;„o.s",ci^'  ■'^"^' 


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II  ,'l  17.   '1 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  273 

in  flank.  The  enemy  had  one  debouchment  (a), 
consisting  of  a  kind  of  djke,  which  led  from  Ko- 
lacze  (1).  He  could  pass  this  dyke  easily,  for  the 
bridge  was  entire.  On  our  side,  not  far  from  this 
dyke,  were  small  forests,  or  rather  brush-wood, 
occupied  by  two  battalions  (b)  of  our  infantry. 
Upon  the  plain  between  Kuflew  and  the  river  Swi- 
der,  ten  squadrons  of  our  cavalry  (c)  manoeuvred. 
Near  the  village  (II)  upon  a  little  hill,  on  which 
was  a  wind-mill,  our  artillery  (J),  consisting  of 
only  four  pieces,  were  posted,  and  directed  their 
fire  upon  the  passage  over  which  the  enemy  were 
to  debouch.  The  position  of  the  enemy  was  com- 
manding, for  his  artillery  could  sweep  the  whole 
plain  on  each  side  of  the  Swider.  The  details  of 
this  battle  were  as  follow  :  —  At  sun-rise,  on  the 
25th,  several  regiments  of  cossacks  (e)  appeared 
upon  the  heights  of  Jeruzalem.  They  even  sev- 
eral times  attempted  to  pass  the  dyke,  but  were 
repulsed  by  the  fire  of  our  tirailleurs  from  the 
brush-wood.  It  was  mid-day  when  strong  columns 
of  infantry  (/)  began  to  show  themselves  in  the 
direction  of  Lukowiec  and  Plomieniec.  In  a  short 
time  all  the  heights  of  Jeruzalem  were  covered 
with  columns  of  infantry,  and  they  began  their 
descent  to  Kolacze.  The  Russian  light  troops  (g) 
began  their  debouchment,  and  a  warm  fire  com- 
menced between  the  Russian  infantry  upon  the 
dyke,  and  our  own  tirailleurs  in  the  brush- wood. 
The  Russian  artillery  (h)  which  remained  upon  the 
heights  on  the  other  side,  consisting  of  twenty  and 


274  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

more  pieces  of  large  calibre,  poured  for  several 
hours  a  heavy  fire  upon  Kuflew,  where  they  sup- 
posed a  large  force  to  be  placed,  but  where,  in 
fact,  besides  the  four  pieces  of  artillery,  we  had 
but  one  company  of  infantry.  Under  this  terrible 
fire,  that  village  was  burnt  to  the  ground.  Those 
attacks  of  the  Russian  artillery  and  infantry  con- 
tinued for  three  successive  hours,  when  colonel 
Dembinski,  being  informed  that  the  small  detach- 
ments at  Latowicz,  &c,  above  referred  to,  had 
evacuated  their  position  and  were  safe  from  being 
cut  off,  commenced  his  retreat,  as  his  instructions 
directed.  By  accelerating  his  retreat  he  had  an- 
other object  in  view,  namely,  to  lead  the  enemy  in 
the  direction  of  the  2d  division,  which  was  posted 
at  Ceglow,  and  was  prepared  to  receive  him. 
Our  infantry  and  artillery  had  left  their  position 
and  were  on  the  road,  when  colonel  Dembinski, 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  threw 
himself  with  great  boldness  upon  the  columns  of 
the  enemy  which  had  debouched  over  the  dyke, 
and  by  repeated  attacks  kept  them  off  from  our 
rear.  After  having  passed  the  first  forest  without 
molestation,  between  Ceglow  and  Kuflew,  colonel 
Dembinski  took  a  position,  between  forests,  in  the 
environs  of  Bady,  where  a  part  of  the  2d  division 
was  placed  in  expectation  of  the  enemy,  in  a  kind 
of  ambuscade.  Here  our  forces  waited  in  vain 
until  night  for  the  enemy,  who  had  contented  him- 
self with  having  taken  Kuflew.  Two  squadrons 
of  Cossacks,  whom  he  ventured  to  send  towards 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  275 

our  position,  to  reconnoitre,  were,  as  soon  as  they 
were  seen,  fallen  upon  by  our  cavalry,  and  either 
cut  down  or  made  prisoners,  to  the  amount  of  more 
than  a  hundred  men  and  horses,  with  two  officers. 
As  the  enemy  attempted  nothing  more,  our  forces, 
during  the  night,  evacuated  their  position,  agree- 
ably to  instructions,  and  reached  Minsk  at  3,  A.  M. 
of  the  next  day.  At  Kuflew,  full  40,000  men, 
with  some  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  com- 
manded by  Diebitsch  in  person,  were  opposed  to 
general  Dembinski,  who  had  not  quite  4,000  men 
and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  with  which  force  he 
stood  against  the  enemy  for  that  whole  day.  The 
loss  of  the  Russians  was  about  a  thousand  men, 
and  on  our  own  side  it  was  not  fifty. 

The  actions  which  took  place  on  the  same  day 
at  Boimie,  were  without  any  decisive  result,  con- 
sisting only  of  a  continued  fire  of  artillery.  During 
the  night  of  that  day,  our  forces  in  every  point 
made  a  retrograde  movement.  The  general  in 
chief  arranged  his  preparations  to  receive  the 
enemy  on  the  26th,  dividing  his  forces  into  two 
parts.  The  second  division  under  Gielgud,  and 
the  division  of  cavalry,  under  Skarzynski,  was  to 
await  the  enemy  at  Minsk  ;  while  the  general  in 
chief,  with  the  main  body,  awaited  him  in  person 
at  Dembe-Wielke. 

BATTLE  OF  MINSK.     [See  Plan    XXV.] 

The  position  of  Minsk  may  be  considered  as 
one  of  the  strongest  upon  the  great   road   from 


276  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

Siedlce  to  Warsaw.  That  town  is  situated  in  a 
plain,  surrounded  bj  an  impenetrable  forest,  and 
traversed  bj  a  small  river,  which  falls  into  the 
Swider.  Upon  the  side  of  Warsaw,  where  our 
forces  were  placed,  are  heights  which  overlook  the 
whole  town,  and  they  were  particularly  command- 
ing upon  the  right  of  the  roads  leading  to  War- 
saw. The  fire  from  those  heights  could  sweep 
almost  every  street  of  the  city,  and  they  were  oc- 
cupied by  twenty-four  pieces  of  artillery  (a). 
Upon  the  side  of  Siedlce  and  Ceglow,  whence  the 
enemy  was  approaching,  the  whole  plain  was  ex- 
posed to  the  commanding  fire  of  this  artillery. 
The  town  of  Minsk  was  occupied  by  two  batta- 
lions of  our  light  infantry,  dispersed  as  sharp  shoot- 
ers (6). 

It  was  mid-day  when  the  Russians  (c)  (d) 
debouched  from  the  forest,  commenced  their  ad- 
vance, and  deployed  upon  the  plain  under  the  fire 
of  our  artillery,  which  was  opened  immediately. 
Some  fifty  pieces  of  the  enemy's  artillery,  (e) 
approached  the  city,  took  position,  and  com- 
menced their  fire.  As  the  town  was  occupied  by 
so  small  a  force,  and  so  distributed  as  not  to  be 
affected  by  the  enemy's  fire,  he  was  permitted  to 
continue  this  fire,  and  our  artillery  reserved  theirs 
for  the  moment  when  he  should  make  a  general 
advance  to  storm  the  town.  This  soon  took  place. 
An  enormous  mass  of  infantry  (f)  advanced  to  the 
assault.  Our  light  troops  evacuated  the  part  of  the 
town  beyond  the  river,  to  enable  our  artillery  to 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  277 

open  upon  it.  That  part  was  immediately  occupied 
by  the  enemy,  who,  crowded  together  in  the  streets, 
were  subjected  to  a  fire  which  spread  death  among 
their  ranks.  The  enemy  hesitated  whether  to  ad- 
vance or  retire,  and  remained  in  the  utmost  dis- 
order, falling  under  the  fire  of  our  artillery  and 
the  torn  and  burning  fragments  of  the  wooden 
buildings  which  were  rent  in  pieces  by  that  fire. 
While  the  enemy  remained  in  this  horrible  sus- 
pense, the  brave  colonel  Oborski  led  his  regiment 
to  the  charge,  and  bore  down  all  before  him.  A 
most  terrible  massacre,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
then  took  place  in  the  Square  of  the  Church  (g), 
where  great  masses  of  the  enemy  were  crowded 
together.  The  Russians  were  driven  out  of  the 
town  after  a  most  severe  loss.  They  were  left 
at  liberty  to  take  possession  of  the  same  part 
again,  but  they  did  not  repeat  their  attacks  upon 
the  town,  satisfying  themselves  with  concentrating 
a  heavy  fire  of  artillery  principally  upon  the  heights 
occupied  by  our  own.  This  state  of  things  con- 
tinued till  three  o'clock,  when  general  Gielgud  gave 
orders  to  evacuate  the  position,  agreeably  to  the 
directions  of  the  general  in  chief.  Sixteen  squad- 
rons of  cavalry  were  left  to  cover  the  movement,* 
and  in  this  way  our  division,  reaching  the  village 
of  Stoiadly,  two  English  miles  distant,  took  a 
second  position  there.  This  new  position  was 
advantageous,  on  account  of  the  elevation  of  the 
ground.  Our  right  wing,  in  particular,  was  well 
supported  upon  a  thick  marshy  forest,  and  was 
35 


278  THE  rOLISII   REVOLUTION. 

pushed  forward  far  enough  to  give  a  cross  fire  to 
the  enemy,  in  case  he  should  try  to  force  the  pas- 
sage of  the  great  road.  As  the  enemy  was  so 
imprudent,  after  our  evacuation,  as  to  commence 
his  debouchment  through  the  town,  Avith  his  cav- 
ahy  in  advance,  he  exposed  himself  to  a  severe  loss  ; 
for  our  artillery,  consisting  of  six  pieces,  poured  a 
destructive  fire  upon  the  main  street  of  the  city, 
which  led  to  the  only  passage  over  the  river ; 
and  again,  after  deploying  under  this  fire  upon  the 
plain,  he  was  subjected  to  vigorous  charges  from 
our  cavalry  under  Skarzynski,  which  cost  him  a 
severe  loss,  and  delayed  his  advance  for  more  than 
half  an  hour.  As  the  space  between  Stoiadly 
and  Minsk  was  a  plain  gentl}^  descending  from  our 
side,  moist  in  the  lower  parts,  and  in  every  way 
favorable  for  attacks  by  our  cavalry,  their  charges 
were  continually  repeated,  and  the  combat  on  this 
plain  deserved  the  name  of  the  combat  of  cavalry. 
To  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  these  effective 
charges  against  a  cavalry  of  much  superior  force,  I 
will  merely  state  that  each  squadron  of  the  six- 
teen, was  engaged  some  three  or  four  successive 
times  with  the  enemy.  Their  horses  were  con- 
tinually in  foam.  The  regiment  of  Zamoyski,  the 
Krakus,  and  the  5th  Hulans  greatly  distinguished 
themselves.  The  loss  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  of 
which  the  greater  part  consisted  of  regiments  of 
heavy  dragoons,  was  very  great.  Their  horses 
hoofs  sunk  into  the  humid  ground,  and  our  Krakus, 
on  their  light  animals,  assaulted  them  in  the  very 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  279 

midst  of  their  ranks.  Many  staff  and  other  offi- 
cers of  the  enemy  were  left  dead  upon  the  field. 
Our  advanced  guard  having,  in  this  way,  fought 
with  such  advantages,  against  the  whole  Russian 
army,  at  Minsk  and  Stoiadly,  from  mid-day  until 
5,  P.  M.  ;  the  general  in  chief  ordered  them  to 
evacuate  their  position  as  promptly  as  possible, 
and  retire  to  Dembie-Wielke,  where  he  awaited 
the  enemy  in  order  of  battle,  and  where  he  was 
desirous  of  meeting  his  attack  before  night.  This 
movement  was  executed  without  molestation  from 
the  Russians.  Our  advanced  guard  passed  the 
forests  between  Dembe-Wielke  and  Stoiadly,  and 
arrived  at  the  position  of  Dembe-Wielke,  where 
fifty  pieces  of  our  artillery  were  posted  to  receive 
the  enemy,  and  our  whole  force  took  the  order  of 
battle.  The  enemy,  however,  did  not  debouch 
from  the  forests,  but  remained  on  the  other  side. 
This  finishes  the  details  of  that  day  and  of  the 
battle  of  Minsk,  in  which  the  early  cessation  of 
the  attacks  of  the  enemy  proved  how  much  he  had 
suffered.  He  had  two  generals  mortally  wounded, 
general  Pahlen  and  the  prince  Galiczyn,  and  lost 
nearly  4,000  men.  On  our  side  the  loss  was  four 
or  five  hundred  only. 

For  their  conduct  in  this  battle,  the  National 
Government  and  the  general  in  chief  presented 
their  thanks  to  the  2d  division  under  Gielgud  and 
the  division  of  cavalry  under  Skarzynski.  General 
Gielgud  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  general  of 
division,  and  it  was  perhaps  owing  to  his  skilful 


280  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

dispositions  and  brave  conduct  on  that  day,  that  it 
was  not  feared  to  entrust  him  with  the  command 
of  the  all  important  expedition  to  Lithuania. 

On  the  27th  and  28th,  no  events  took  place. 
During  the  night  of  the  28th,  the  enemj,  to  our 
astonishment,  evacuated  his  position  and  retired  as 
far  as  Kaluszjn,  twenty-four  English  miles  distant. 
We  cannot  give  the  true  cause  of  this  sudden  and 
unexpected  retreat.  Perhaps  it  was  on  account 
of  a  failure  of  provisions.  Another  cause  might 
have  been  the  rumors,  which  had  begun  to  take  an 
aspect  of  importance,  of  the  revolutions  in  Lithu- 
ania and  Samogitia. 

The  reader  will  allow  me  to  dwell  for  a  moment 
upon  this  extraordinary  movement  of  the  enemy, 
which  must  be  considered  an  indication,  either  of 
the  extreme  of  physical  and  moral  weakness  to 
which  the  Russian  army  was  reduced,  or  of  a  great 
want  of  generalship  on  the  part  of  marshal  Die- 
bitsch.  Such  a  course,  voluntarily  taken,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  military  critic,  is  enough  to  destroy  all 
claim  to  military  talent  on  the  part  of  that  com- 
mander. Such  great  objects  attempted,  followed 
up  with  so  little  perseverance,  and  abandoned 
without  an  adequate  cause,  would  seem  to  indicate 
either  the  absence  of  any  fixed  plan,  or  a  degree 
of  indecision  inconsistent  with  any  sound  military 
pretensions. 

Our  commander  in  chief  felt  sure  that  when 
general  Diebitsch  attacked,  on  the  25th,  and  26th, 
it  was  with  the  view,  having  no  longer  any  fear  of 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  281 

the  corps  of  generals  Dwernicki  and  Sierawski, 
and  being  reinforced  by  the  corps  which  had  been 
opposed  to  the  former,  to  follow  up  his  attack  and 
compel  us  to  a  general  battle.  Whatever  might 
have  been  the  result  of  that  battle,  it  was  the  only 
course  which  a  true  general  could  have  followed, 
especially  when  his  army  was  in  such  superiority 
of  strength.  To  one  w^ho  considers  these  circum- 
stances, two  questions  will  arise.  First,  what  was 
the  object  of  commencing  the  attack  ?  Secondly, 
what  was,  in  regard  to  tactics,  the  cause  of  its 
cessation,  and  of  that  sudden  retreat  ?  It  will  be 
very  difficult  to  find  a  satisfactory  answer  to  either 
of  those  questions.* 

Our  army,  after  this  retreat  of  the  enemy,  com- 

*  In  the  whole  of  this  war,  the  videttes  of  the  two  armies 
were  at  no  time  so  near  as  they  were  after  this  last  battle. 
On  the  27th  and  28th,  those  of  the  Russian  cavalry,  cossacks 
and  hussars,  occupying- the  main  road,  were  within  fifty  paces 
of  the  videttes  of  our  lancers,-  so  near  in  fact  that  they  could 
have  conversed  together.  On  having  this  circumstance  re- 
ported to  him,  the  general  in  chief  did  not  take  advantage 
of  any  attack,  but  ordered  the  utmost  forbearance  to  be  ob- 
served, and  the  most  friendly  demonstrations  to  be  made  by 
our  outposts.  On  changing  of  the  guard,  our  sentinels,  as 
they  quitted  their  post,  bade  a  friendly  adieu  to  the  opposite 
sentinel  of  the  enemy  ;  and  under  the  cover  of  night,  the 
enemy's  sentinels,  and  even  some  of  their  officers,  approach- 
ed our  videttes,  gave  their  hands,  and  entered  into  friendly 
conversation.  It  was  touching  to  see  those  brave  soldiers 
deeply  affected  at  such  meetings.  With  tears  in  their  eyes, 
the  Russians  could  only  repeat  that  they  had  been  forced  to 
this  contest,  and  confessed  that,  even  if  we  should  be  con- 
querors, they  would  be  the  gainers  in  other  respects.  They 
also  uttered  their  complaints  of  the  tyranny  and  the  priva- 
tions to  which  they  were  subjected,  and  our  lancers  gave 
them  all  the  relief  which  their  own  means  could  furnish. 


282  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

menced  anew  its  advance,  and,  on  the  30th,  it 
occupied  again  its  former  position  at  Boimie,  on 
the  river  Kostrzyn.  At  this  time,  our  left  w^ing 
under  Uminski,  w^hich,  as  the  reader  is  aware, 
was  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Narew,  at  the  envi- 
rons of  Pultusk,  received  orders  to  join  the  main 
army,  leaving  a  detachment  at  Zagroby,  where  the 
generalissimo  ordered  a  strong  bridge-head  to  be 
erected. 

The  position  of  the  two  armies  on  the  30th  was 
as  follows.  [Plans  VI  and  XXIX.]  Our  army 
was  again  concentrated  between  Wengrow  and 
Ceglow,  and  indeed  Wengrow  was  occupied  by  a 
small  detachment.  The  centre  or  the  greater 
force  was  on  the  main  road  at  Kaluszyn.  Its 
advanced  posts  were  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
Kostrzyn  at  Grombkowo,  Strzebucza,  and  Boimie. 
Our  right  wing  was  again  posted  upon  the  river 
Swider,  betwecD  Karczew  and  Ceglow.  The 
Russian  army  was  concentrated  in  the  environs  of 
Mordy  and  Sucha,  where  marshal  Diebitsch  en- 
trenched himself  in  a  fortified  camp,  and  took 
again  a  defensive  attitude.  The  corps  of  Kreutz 
and  Witt  were  in  the  environs  of  Pulawy,  and  the 
Russian  imperial  guard  advanced  to  the  environs 
of  Pultusk, 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

General  Skrzynecki  resumes  the  offensive. — He  decides  to  adopt  an  en- 
larged plan  of  operations,  and  to  make  the  revolutionized  provinces 
supply  the  place  of  a  corps  d'armee. — The  corps  of  Chrzanowski  is 
sent  to  occupy  the  Russian  corps  of  Witt  and  Kreutz. — Admirable  exe- 
cution of  this  enterprise. — Attack  on  Kock. — Attack  of  Rudiger's 
camp. — Plan  of  operations  by  the  main  army  against  the  Russian  guard. 
— Forced  march  from  Kaluszyn  by  Praga  to  Serock. — Advanced  post 
of  the  guard  attacked  and  defeated. — The  corps  of  Saken  is  cut  off. — 
The  2d  division  under  Gielgud  sent  into  Lithuania. — The  imperial 
guard  are  driven  with  great  loss  beyond  the  frontier. — Retrograde 
movement. 

As  several  days  passed  away,  without  any  thing 
having  been  attempted  on  the  part  of  the  enemy, 
our  general  in  chief  decided  to  recommence  hostil- 
ities by  small  attacks,  which  were  designed  to 
mask  the  great  plan  he  intended  to  put  into  exe- 
cution. The  general  view  which  occupied  our 
commander,  was  to  continue  the  offensive,  to  fol- 
low up  the  enemy  constantly,  and  not  to  leave  him 
unless  some  very  important  occasion  should  call 
for  a  different  course.  Let  us  reflect  upon  the 
difficulties  of  such  a  plan,  and  let  us  then  examine 
how  it  w^as  in  fact  executed  by  the  general  in  chief. 

General  Skrzynecki,  regarding  all  the  existing 
circumstances,  the  actual  position  of  the  enemy, 
and  his  strength,  found  a  great  difference  between 
the  present  state  of  things  and  that  which  existed 
after  the  battle  of  Iganie.  The  misfortunes  of  the 
corps  of  Dwernicki  and  Sierawski,  had  made  a  vast 
change  in  the  relative  strength  of  the  two  parties. 
The  fate  of  those  two  corps  gave  a  great  advantage 


* 

284  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

to  the  enemy,  leaving  him  free  to  concentrate  all 
his  forces  and  to  act  in  one  mass.     This  advantaoe 

o 

of  the  enemj  was  to  be  met,  and  means  were  to 
be  taken  to  keep  his  forces  in  detached  bodies,  by 
giving  occupation  to  each.  To  provide  such  means, 
it  was  next  an  object  to  give  an  important  charac- 
ter to  the  revolution  in  Lithuania,  and  in  fact  to 
make  that  revolution  supply  the  place  of  a  corps 
d^armee,  to  send  a  body  of  troops  to  aid  it,  and  to 
direct  and  lead  the  partizan  forces  which  might  be 
there  enrolled.  If  then  by  such  operation,  Lithu- 
ania and  Samogitia  could  be  kept  in  constant  com- 
munication with  the  main  army,  the  line  of  opera- 
tions would  be  enlarged,  and  would  be  based  upon 
Wilno  and  Warsaw.  This  line  of  operations  would 
embrace  also  the  towns  of  Grodno  and  Lomza. 
To  occupy  the.  corps  of  Witt  and  Kreutz,  which 
were  still  in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin,  the  general 
in  chief  detached  a  small  corps  under  the  command 
of  general  Chrzanowski,  which  were  furnished  with 
the  same  instructions  as  its  predecessor,  that  of 
general  Dwernicki,  which  were,  in  general,  to  act 
in  the  environs  of  Zamosc, 

To  facilitate  the  execution  of  these  plans,   the 
general  in   chief  determined  to  give  daily  occupa- 
tion  to  the  enemy.     On  the  2d  of  May,  the   fire 
.m  was  renewed  along  our  whole  line.     Each  folio w- 

""  ing  day  presented   sanguinary  scenes  at  different 

points.  In  the  midst  of  one  of  these  actions,  on 
the  7th,  the  small  corps  above  mentioned,  consist- 
ing of  4,000  men  and  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  under 


m 


XXVff 


l|  )\  I  7 


^'         THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  285 

general  Chrzanowski,  left  the  main  body  [See  Plan 
XXVI],  took  the  direction  of  Stoczek  (1),  Zele- 
chow  (2),  and  Kock  (3),  to  reach  the  environs  of 
Zamosc  (4).  The  reader,  on  examining  the  plan, 
and  looking  at  the  space  which  this  corps  (a)  w^as 
to  pass  over,  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  detached 
corps  (6),  and  in  which  it  was  exposed  every  mo- 
ment to  be  surrounded  and  cut  off,  will  acknow- 
ledge that  this  expedition,  which  was  most  suc- 
cessfully executed,  is  to  be  ranked  among  the  finest 
operations  in  the  campaign.  It  demanded  a  gen- 
eral of  talent,  and  a  soldier  of  determination. 

When  I  allow  myself  thus  to  detain  the  attention 
of  the  reader  upon  the  extraordinary  efforts  of  this 
war,  it  is  only  with  the  view  to  convince  him  that 
nothing  is  difficult  of  execution  which  is  prompted 
by  a  resolute  determination  based  upon  high  prin- 
ciples, and  that  what  would  be  deemed  almost  im- 
possible in  an  ordinary  war,  in  which  despots,  to 
gratify  their  ambition  or  their  caprices,  force  their 
subjects  to  battle  —  an  involuntary  sacrifice,  is  far 
from  being  so,  in  a  war  like  ours.  In  such  a  war, 
moral  impulse  becomes  an  element,  the  importance 
of  which  cannot  be  over-estimated. 

General  Chrzanowski,  quitting,  as  we  have 
mentioned,  the  main  body,  took  the  direction  of 
Ceglow,  and  threw  himself  into  the  great  forest  of 
Plomieniec.  Leaving  that  forest,  he  met,  near 
Wodynie,  a  strong  detachment  of  the  enemy,  com- 
posed of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  several  pieces  of 
artillery,  belonging  to  their  main  body,  and  proba- 
36 


286  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

bij  detached  to  make  a  reconnoissance.  By  a 
sudden  attack  that  detachment  was  at  once  over- 
thrown. The  cavalry  ordered  for  their  pursuit 
were  instructed  to  return  in  another  direction,  in 
order  to  deceive  the  enemy.  In  this  manner  gen- 
eral Chrzanowski,  frequently  meeting  with  small 
detachments  of  the  enemy  and  deceiving  them  con- 
tinually, traversed  the  woody  plain  between  Stoc- 
zek  and  Zelechow,  and  arrived,  on  the  night  of 
the  9th,  at  the  environs  of  Kock,  where  he  had  to 
pass  the  river  Wieprz, 


ATTACK  OF  KOCK.     [See  Plan  XXVII.] 

At  the  moment  of  the  arrival  of  the  corps  of 
general  Chrzanowski,  this  town  was  occupied  by 
a  part  of  the  corps  of  general  Witt,  composed  of 
6,000  men  and  20  pieces  of  artillery.  Besides 
this  considerable  garrison,  the  place  had  been 
strengthened  by  several  fortifications  (1)  on  each 
side  of  the  river,  to  defend  the  passage  of  the 
bridge  (2),  and  without  taking  those  fortifications 
it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  pass  the  bridge. 
In  such  circumstances  there  was  no  alternative, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  attempt  to  take  the  town 
by  storm.  General  Chrzanowski  announced  his 
intention  to  the  c^rps,  and  addressed  a  few  ani- 
mating words  to  them.  Having  divided  his  corps 
into  small  parties  (a,  a),  he  surrounded  the  town. 
He  placed  especial  importance  upon  the  forcing  of 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  287 

the  avenue  (3)  leading  to  the  palace,  and  getting 
possession  of  the  garden  (4)  which  surrounded  the 
palace,  and  bordered  on  the  river.  If  all  this  could 
be  rapidly  executed,  the  enemy  w^ould  be  taken  in 
the  rear. 

The  signal  for  the  attack  being  given,  a  vi^arm 
fire  from  our  skirmishers  was  commenced  in  all 
points  round  the  city,  and,  while  the  cavalry  (6), 
divided  into  detachments,  threw  themselves  con- 
tinually upon  the  Russian  infantry  (c),  our  infan- 
try, at  the  charge,  forced  the  entrance  to  the  pal- 
ace and  garden,  which  was  immediately  occupied 
by  our  tirailleurs,  who  opened  their  fire  upon  the 
fortifications  (1)  and  on  the  Russian  columns  in 
the  square  (rf).  In  this  manner  the  enemy  was 
surrounded,  and  forced  to  evacuate  the  city  with 
great  loss,  and  to  take  the  direction  of  Radzyn. 
General  Chrzanowski  passed  the  river  and  took 
the  direction  of  Lubartow.  Leaving  the  town  of 
Lublin  on  the  right,  and  following  the  banks  of 
the  river  Wieprz,  he  reached  on  the  11th  the  envi- 
rons of  Piaski.  In  the  latter  place  he  was  ap- 
prized that  a  Russian  corps  under  Rudiger  was 
at  Krasny-staw.     Chrzanowski  decided  to  attack 

them. 

•» 

ATTACK  OF  RUDIGER'S  CAMP.     [See  Plan  XXVIII.] 

The  corps  of  general  Rudiger,  after  the  unfor- 
tunate disaster  of  general  Dwernicki,  having  tra- 
versed Volhynia,  entered  the  frontiers  of  the  king- 


288  THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

dom,  and  took  the  direction  of  Lublin,  being  des- 
tined probably  to  reinforce  the  main  army  under 
Diebitsch.  This  corps,  which  was  composed  of 
about  12,000  men,  and  some  twenty  pieces  of  can- 
non, was  in  camp  (E)  near  the  town  of  Krasny- 
staw,  having  that  town  and  the  river  Wieprz  in  its 
rear. 

General  Chrzanowski,  who  halted  with  his  corps 
in  the  forest  between  Piaski  and  Krasny-staw, 
having  sent  out  patrols,  was  perfectly  informed  of 
the  position  of  the  enemy,  and  ascertained  that  he 
had  not  his  wing  supported  on  the  river  ;  —  indeed, 
he  was  in  such  a  state,  as  satisfied  our  general  that 
he  had  no  expectation  of  meeting  a  Polish  force, 
and  that  he  might  be  surprised  in  his  camp.  To 
effect  this  object,  general  Chrzanowski  divided  his 
corps  into  two  parties,  and  giving  the  command 
of  one  to  the  brave  general  Romarino,  he  ordered 
him  to  traverse  the  forest  longitudinally,  as  far  as 
the  road  which  leads  from  Tarnogora  to  Krasny- 
staw,  and  by  this  road,  which  is  wholly  through 
forests,  to  approach,  as  near  as  possible,  to  the  left 
of  the  enemy's  camp ;  and  also,  if  circumstances 
might  permit  it,  to  push  himself  even  against  the 
enemy's  rear.  On  arriving  there,  he  was  to  com- 
mence his  fire  immediately.  These  instructions 
to  general  Romarino  being  given,  general  Chrza- 
nowski (B)  advanced  with  the  other  part  of  the 
corps,  through  the  forest,  keeping  the  left  bank  of 
the  Wieprz.  He  approached  so  near  the  enemy, 
without  being  perceived,  as  even  to  be  on  a  line 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  289 

with  him.  Not  long  before  evening,  Romarino 
having  reached  the  enemy  on  the  other  side  (C), 
began  his  attack,  and  his  fire  v^as  a  signal  for 
Chrzanowski  to  quit  the  forest.  Thus  suddenly 
assaulted  upon  his  two  wings  and  his  rear,  the  dis- 
order of  the  enemy  was  unimaginable,  and  he  was 
not  in  a  state  to  offer  resistance.  The  whole  camp 
was  taken,  with  all  its  baggage,  ammunition,  &:c, 
and  as  many  as  two  thousand  prisoners  and  six 
pieces  of  artillery  fell  into  our  hands.  The  re- 
mains of  his  force  fled  along  the  great  road  (D), 
which  was  purposely  left  open  to  him.  General 
Chrzanowski  contented  himself  with  occupying 
the  town,  in  which  he  furnished  himself  with  am- 
munition from  the  magazines,  and,  remaining  there 
but  a  ^short  time,  left  for  the  environs  of  Zamosc, 
in  which  fortress  he  deposited  his  prisoners. 

Conformably  to  his  instructions,  he  remained  in 
camp,  near  this  fortress,  at  Labunia.* 

*  The  reader  may  be  pleased  with  a  short  biographical 
sketch  of  general  Chrzanowski,  who  distinguished  himself 
here  so  much.  This  skilful  officer  commenced  his  military 
career  in  1815,  on  leaving  the  military  school  at  Warsaw, 
as  officer  of  the  corps  of  engineers,  in  which  department  he 
was  distinguished  for  his  skill  and  industry.  In  the  year 
1828,  during  the  war  of  Turkey,  the  Emperor  Nicholas  was 
desirous  of  obtaining  the  aid  of  Polish  officers  of  engineers, 
and  Chrzanowski  was  among  the  number  chosen.  In  this 
campaign  his  talents  made  themselves  remarked,  and  mar- 
shal Diebitsch  gave  him  great  marks  of  confidence,  and 
placed  him  near  his  person.  He  returned  from  the  cam- 
paign as  captain,  and  received  several  Russian  decorations. 
In  the  revolution,  like  a  worthy  son  of  Poland,  he  offered 
his  services  to  the  common  cause  ;  but  the  dictator  Chlo- 
picki,  who,  among  his  other  faults,  had  that  of  either  being 
unable  to  appreciate,  or  willing  to  disregard  the  merits  of 


-flK^ 


290  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  general  in  chief  having  thus  accomplished 
his  object  of  supplying  the  place  of  general  Dvv^er- 
nicki's  corps,  and  holding  in  check  the  corps  of 
Witt  and  Kreutz,  in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin,  it 
remained  to  him  to  complete  his  great  plan  by 
sending  a  corps  into  Lithuania.  He  decided  to 
remove  the  only  obstacle  to  this  attempt  by  attack- 
ing the  Russian  imperial  guard,  vi^hich  was  some- 
vv^hat  detached  from  the  Russian  grand  army. 
To  carry  this  bold  purpose  into  effect,  the  follow- 
ing instructions  were  given  to  the  different  com- 
manders. 

the  officers  from  among  whom  he  was  to  make  his  appoint- 
ments, did  not  give  any  important  trust  to  general  Chrza- 
nowski ; — perhaps  it  was  because  Chrzanowski  was  among 
the  number  of  those  who  were  desirous  of  taking  the  field 
without  delay.  With  the  glorious  commencement  of  the  era 
of  the  command  of  our  estimable  Skrzynecki,  this  brave 
officer  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel,  and 
was  placed  in  the  post  of  chef  d'etat  major.  While  in  this 
post  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  general.  The  general- 
issimo, who  in  all  his  plans  observed  the  greatest  secrecy, 
and  his  example  ought  to  be  followed  by  every  good  general, 
initiated,  however,  Chrzanowski,  and  Prondzynski,  who  suc- 
ceeded the  former  as  chef  d'etat,  into  all  his  plans :  and  in- 
deed those  two  brave  generals  were  valuable  counsellors  to 
Skrzynecki.  Among  other  qualities  necessary  to  a  great 
general,  Chrzanowski  was  endowed  with  great  coolness  and 
presence  of  mind,  and  with  a  spirit  of  system,  which  he  car- 
ried into  every  thing  which  he  undertook.  He  was  seen  in 
the  midst  of  the  hottest  fire,  with  his  plan  of  the  battle  be- 
fore him,  referring  the  movements  to  the  plan,  and  giving 
his  orders  with  the  greatest  sangfroid  imaginable.  The  gen- 
eralissimo could  not  enough  regret  that  he  had  not  given  him 
the  command  of  the  expedition  to  Lithuania,  in  place  of 
Gielgud.  If  the  skill  and  coolness  of  Chrzanowski  could 
have  been  united,  in  that  expedition,  with  the  bold  and  ad- 
venturous enterprise  of  Dwernicki,  every  thing  would  have 
been  effected  there  in  a  few  weeks. 


* 


01, 


■■  I,  I-,''  '1  ;^  :i  I 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  291 

OPERATIONS  AGAINST  THE  RUSSIAN  GUARD. 
[Plan  XXIX.] 

On  the  12th  of  May,  general  Uminski  with  his 
division  of  cavalry  (a)  w^as  ordered  to  quit  the  left 
v\^ing  and  the  position  of  Zimna-Woda,  and  to  move 
to  the  position  of  Kaluszyn.  This  traverse  of  the 
line  he  was  to  make  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  and 
he  was  to  give  to  the  manoeuvre  the  aspect  of  a 
reconnoissance.  The  object  of  this  change  of  po- 
sition was,  that  in  the  new  position  he  might  mask 
the  movements  of  the  main  body.  This  important 
disposition  general  Uminski  was  directed  to  carry 
into  effect  with  the  utmost  prudence.  The  enemy 
was  to  be  each  day  harassed,  but  never  to  be  en- 
gaged with  in  any  decisive  manner.  Small  de- 
tachments were  to  be  sent  against  the  enemy, 
along  his  whole  line,  and  especially  on  the  first 
days  of  the  movement.  The  general  in  chief  in- 
structed general  Uminski  to  watch  every  move- 
ment of  the  enemy,  and  give  information  of  such 
at  head-quarters.  If  the  main  body  of  the  Russian 
force  should  make  an  attack,  he  was  to  execute  his 
retreat  upon  the  main  road,  as  far  as  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Praga,  and  there  he  was  to  act  in  junction 
with  the  other  detachments  left  there  for  the  de- 
fence of  those  fortifications.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
the  Russian  army  should  make  a  retrograde  move- 
ment, general  Uminski  was  to  endeavor,  by  fol- 
lowing them,  to  keep  them  constantly  in  view. 
If  circumstances  permitted,  the  rear  guard  of  the 


292  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Russians  might  be  harassed  during  the  night. 
Above  all,  general  Uminski  was  to  endeavor  to 
keep  up  his  communications  with  the  neighboring 
corps,  that  of  general  Lubinski,  and  the  detach- 
ments left  at  Siennica  and  Karczew.  In  this 
moderate  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  the  general  was  to 
ascertain  whether  their  retrograde  movement  was 
a  retreat  or  a  manoeuvre,  in  order  to  avoid  every 
hazard. 

General  Lubinski  (6),  with  his  division  of  cav- 
alry, was  to  pass  the  right  bank  of  the  Bug  (B), 
and  leaving  small  detachments  at  Wyszkow  (1) 
and  Brok  (2),  he  was  to  advance  as  far  as  the 
environs  of  Nar  (3),  not  quitting  the  right  bank  of 
the  river.  All  his  care  was  to  be  devoted  to  the 
observing  of  the  enemy,  and  to  the  preventing  of 
any  sudden  passage  of  the  river  by  him.  In  regard 
to  his  communications,  the  same  instructions  were 
given  to  him  as  to  general  Uminski. 

Having  given  these  orders  to  the  above  men- 
tioned corps,  general  Skrzynecki,  with  the  main 
force  (^),  left  suddenly  the  position  at  Kaluszyn  (4), 
making  a  retrograde  movement  upon  the  great 
road,  by  Minsk  (5),  traversed  Praga  (6),  and 
through  Jablonna  (7),  and  Zegrz  (8),  arrived  on 
the  15th,  at  Serock  (9).  On  the  16th,  he  passed 
the  Narew  (N),  at  this  place,  leaving  a  brigade  of 
infantry  and  cavalry  (e),  under  general  Dembinski, 
upon  the  right  bank,  with  orders  to  advance  to 
Ostrolenka  (10),  through  the  towns  of  Pultusk, 
Magnuszewo   and   Rozany  (11).      This   detach- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  293 

ment  was  not  to  commence  the  attack  on  meeting 
the  enemy,  but  was  only  to  harass  him  and  keep 
him  in  check,  and  detain  him  as  near  as  possi- 
ble to  Serock.  If  the  enemy  should  commence 
the  retreat,  this  corps  was  to  pursue  him  with  the 
greatest  activity,  in  order  that  at  Ostrolenka,  where 
the  general  in  chief  had  determined  to  attack  him, 
he  might  be  exposed  between  two  fires. 

On  the  17th,  this  corps  met  the  first  advanced 
post  (/)  of  the  Russian  imperial  guard  at  Mod- 
zele,  which,  after  a  slight  engagement,  evacuated 
its  position,  and  retired.  Being  pursued  by  the 
brigade  of  cavalry  under  general  Dembinski,  they, 
on  the  1 8th,  commenced  the  passage  of  the  Narew, 
at  Ostrolenka.  In  attempting  this  passage,  the 
rear-guard  of  the  enemy  was  overthrown,  and  four 
regiments  of  the  light  infantry  of  Finland  were 
taken  prisoners.  This  pursuit  by  the  brave  Dem- 
binski was  executed  with  such  rapidity,  that  the 
corps  of  general  Saken,  which  made  a  part  of  the 
grand  corps  of  the  guard,  but  was  a  little  detached, 
was  completely  cut  oflf  from  the  main  body  and 
forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  palatinate  of  Augus- 
tow.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  our  main 
force  ( d)  could  not  reach  Ostrolenka ;  having  to 
pass  narrow  roads,  through  forests,  in  which  the 
artillery  met  with  much  obstruction.  Otherwise, 
the  whole  of  that  imperial  guard  would  have  been 
surrounded. 

With  the  arrival  of  our  main  body,  on  the  night 
of  the  18th,  the  Russians  passed  the  Narew,  but 
37 


294  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

many  voitures  and  stragglers  fell  into  the  hands  of 
our  cavalry  in  the  forest  of  Troszyn  (12).  The 
general  in  chief,  having  given  the  corps  a  short 
rest,  and  having  despatched  a  detachment,  under 
the  command  of  colonel  Sierawski,  for  the  pursuit 
of  the  corps  of  Saken,  on  the  same  night  continued 
his  march  in  pursuit  of  the  guard,  in  the  direction 
of  Troszyn  (12).  On  the  morning  of  the  next 
day,  arriving  at  Dlugie-Siodlo  (13),  this  village 
was  found  occupied  by  two  regiments  of  infantry 
and  two  of  cavalry,  the  latter  covering  the  village. 
Our  1st  regiment  of  lancers,  which  were  the 
leading  force,  leaving  the  forest  and  finding  the 
Russian  cavalry  in  line  before  that  village,  threw 
themselves  upon  them  with  the  rapidity  of  light- 
ning. The  enemy's  cavalry  was  borne  down  be- 
fore them,  and  pursued  by  our  lancers  into  the 
village  ;  but  his  infantry,  under  cover  of  the  village, 
opened  a  terrible  fire  upon  our  cavalry,  which  com- 
pelled them  to  retire  and  await  the  arrival  of  the 
artillery.  At  length,  eight  pieces  of  light  artil- 
lery, commanded  by  colonel  Boehm,  arrived,  and 
commenced  a  vigorous  fire  of  grape  upon  the  vil- 
lage, which  compelled  the  enemy's  infantry  to 
evacuate  it,  and  they  were  pursued  with  such 
spirit,  that  one  battalion  was  taken,  and  the  rest 
were  dispersed  in  the  forest.  On  the  same  day, 
the  enemy  was  again  pressed  upon  in  his  retreat, 
in  the  environs  of  Xienzopol  (14),  especially  on 
the  passage  of  the  river  and  marshes  of  Kamionka. 
The  1st  lancers,  and  the  battery  of  light  artil- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  295 

lerj,  who  did  not  quit  the  enemy  a  moment,  ar- 
rived simultaneously  with  him  at  the  point  of  the 
passage.  The  enemy  was  obliged  to  debouch 
under  the  fire  of  our  artillery  and  the  charges  of 
our  cavalry,  and  lost  again  several  hundred  in  dead, 
wounded  and  prisoners. 

I  cannot  give  the  reader  a  satisfactory  explana- 
tion, why  general  Skrzynecki  did  not  pursue  the 
enemy  on  the  20th.  Perhaps  he  considered  the 
great  fatigue  of  the  army,  particularly  the  infantry, 
which  the  reader  will,  of  course,  presume  to  have 
been  incurred  by  the  forced  march  which  the  dis- 
tance passed  over  supposes.  Another  reason,  per- 
haps, was,  that  he  had  sent  from  this  place  the 
first  detachment  (i)  for  Lithuania,  wishing  to  be 
sure  of  its  safe  passage  to  the  frontiers.  The  de- 
tachment, in  fact,  left  on  that  day,  in  the  direction 
of  Mniszew,  and  passed  the  frontier  of  the  king- 
dom at  the  village  of  Mien,  between  Ciechanowiec 
and  Suraz,  opposite  Brainsk. 

Our  army,  having  halted  one  day  at  Xienzopol, 
on  the  evening  of  the  20th,  quitted  this  position 
to  continue  the  pursuit  of  the  guard,  and  overtook 
them  in  the  forestof  Menzynin  (15).  This  forest, 
occupied  by  the  Russian  rear-guard,  was  so  near 
the  heights  of  the  village,  which  command  the 
whole  vicinity,  that  it  was  exposed  to  a  fire  of 
artillery  from  these  heights.  Our  generalissimo 
placed  his  artillery  on  the  heights,  and  directed  a 
fire  upon  the  forest ;  the  infantry  was  ordered  to 
take  the  enemy  in  front,  in  case  he  should  quit  the 


296  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

forest,  and  the  cavalry  vras  to  advance  in  strong 
columns  along  the  road,  to  cut  off  his  escape  from 
the  forest  into  the  road.  In  this  they  were  suc- 
cessful, and  took  many  prisoners.  Thus  continu- 
ally pursued,  and  subject  to  severe  losses  along  the 
whole  route,  the  guard  (/)  was  again  pressed  at 
the  passage  of  the  Narew  at  Tykocin  (16).  The 
consternation  and  disorder  of  the  enemy  was  such, 
that  he  did  not  take  time  to  destroy  the  bridge. 
Our  lancers,  commanded  by  the  brave  colonel 
Langerman,  commenced  an  attack  upon  the  Rus- 
sian cuirassiers,  on  the  bridge  itself.  The  regi- 
ment of  cuirassiers  was  almost  annihilated,  many 
being  thrown  from  the  bridge,  and  a  great  number 
taken  prisoners. 

Having  thus  driven  the  Russian  guard  from  the 
kingdom,  (of  which  the  Narew  was  the  boundary,) 
general  Skrzynecki  commenced  a  retrograde  move- 
ment, to  meet  the  demonstration  which  general 
Diebitsch  might  make  upon  his  rear.  On  the 
night  of  the  22d,  our  army  (m)  began  this  move- 
ment, having  destroyed  the  several  bridges  of  the 
Narew. 

These  then  are  the  details  of  the  operations 
upon  the  Russian  guard,  which  will  be  admitted 
to  be  among  the  finest  in  the  history  of  modern 
warfare.  The  operations  of  Napoleon,  in  the 
campaign  of  Italy  —  the  brilliant  commencement  of 
his  career,  in  1796,  - — will  be  always  cited  as  the 
highest  examples  of  stratago-tactics,  but  I  do  not 
think  that  a  finer  and  bolder  plan  of  operations  can 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  297 

be  found  even  there.  In  both  cases,  success  was 
owing,  not  more  to  the  great  military  genius  of  the 
leaders,  than  to  those  high  moral* impulses  which 
must  ajiimate  armies  in  every  contest  for  national 
existence. 

Our  army,  evacuating  on  the  12th,  the  posi- 
tion at  Kaluszyn,  from  that  date  to  the  26th, 
when  the  battle  of  Ostrolenka  took  place,  had 
passed  over  a  distance  of  from  200  to  250  miles, 
which,  deducting  the  six  days  occupied  in  action, 
was  executed  in  eight  days,  making  an  average  of 
twenty-eight  English  miles  per  day,  an  extraordi- 
nary and  perhaps  unexampled  effort.  The  rapid- 
ity, in  fact,  with,  which  this  movement  was  per- 
formed, was  such,  that  our  forces  were  on  their 
return  before  marshal  Diebitsch  commenced  his 
march  to  intercept  them.  This  object  the  marshal 
thought  himself  in  season  to  effect,  but  the  reader 
will  see  in  the  sequel  how  completely  he  failed 
of  it. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

The  Lithuanians  compel  two  Russian  corps  to  evacuate  Samogitia. — Op- 
erations of  general  Chlapowski  in  the  department  of  Bialystok. — Cap- 
ture of  Bielsk. — Defeat  of  a  Russian  force  at  Narewka  and  expulsion  of 
the  enemy  from  the  department.— Recapitulation  of  the  forces  which  had 
been  sent  into  Lithuania. — Operations  of  the  main  army. — Attempt  of 
marshal  Diebitschto  intercept  Skrzynecki  on  his  retrograde  march,  by 
a  diversion  to  Ostrolenka. — General  Lubinski  surprises  the  Russian 
advanced  guard  at  Czyzew. — Marshal  Diebitsch  attacks  the  Polish 
rear-guard  at  Kleczkowo. — The  rear-guard  quits  its  position  at  night, 
and  joins  the  main  army  at  Ostrolenka. — Battle  of  Ostrolenka. 

Quitting  the  main  army,  which  had  thus  suc- 
cessfully executed  the  important  operation  of  driv- 
ing the  Russian  imperial  guard  from  the  kingdom, 
and  sending  a  corps  into  Lithuania,  — we  will  now 
turn  to  take  a  view  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  that 
province.    . 

The  brave  Lithuanians  in  a  series  of  bloody  en- 
counters had  made  themselves  severely  felt  by  the 
enemy.  In  the  departments  of  Roszyienie  and 
Szawla,  at  about  the  middle  of  the  month  of  May, 
a  short  time  before  the  battle  of  Ostrolenka,  the 
two  Russian  corps,  under  Malinowski  and  Szyr- 
man,  were  almost  annihilated  by  the  Lithuanian 
insurgents,  who,  night  and  day,  falling  upon  them 
from  forest  ambuscades,  subjected  them  to  im- 
mense losses.  Those  corps  literally  wandered 
about,  for  some  time,  and  being  unable  to  hold 
themselves  in  any  position,  were  forced  at  last  to 
evacuate  Samogitia. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  299 

In  the  department  of  Bialystok,  the  little  corps 
recently  sent  under  the  command  of  general  Chla- 
powski,  began  its  operations  with  great  success. 
In  the  environs  of  Bielsk,  that  small  detachment, 
composed  of  four  squadrons  of  the  1  st  regiment  of 
lancers,  consisting  of  four  hundred  and  eighty 
horsemen,  a  hundred  and  ninety  light  infantry 
volunteers  mounted,*  and  two  pieces  of  cannon, 
routed  two  regiments  of  cossacks  and  two  batta- 
lions of  infantry,  the  latter  being  taken  in  a  body 
and  the  former  dispersed ;  and,  what  was  of  much 
importance  to  us,  in  Bielsk,  as  well  as  in  Brainsk, 
several  magazines  of  powder  were  found.  In  the 
environs  of  Bielsk,  colonel  Mikotin,  aid-de-camp 
of  the  grand  duke  Michael,  and  on  his  way  with 
despatches  from  him  to  the  Grand  Diike  Constan- 
tine,  w^as  taken  prisoner.! 

*  We  found,  on  experiment,  that  this  species  of  force  act-^ 
ing  in  conjunction  with  cavalry  could  be  used  with  great  ad- 
vantage, especially  against  a  hostile  cavalry.  The  mounted 
infantry  were  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  cavalry.  When  the 
latter  advanced  to  the  charge  the  former  dismounted,  and 
leaving  their  horses  in  the  care  of  a  party  detailed  for  the 
purpose,  dispersed  themselves  as  sharp-shooters,  and  com- 
menced a  fire  upon  the  enemy,  who,  thrown  into  confusion 
by  this  unexpected  attack,  were  open  to  a  destructive  charge 
from  the  cavalry. 

f  The  capture  of  the  town  of  Bielsk  and  its  garrison  was 
marked  with  such  singular  circumstances,  that  I  think  that 
some  of  the  details  will  interest  the  reader.  The  small 
corps  of  general  Chlapowski  arriving  suddenly  before  this 
town,  on  the  22d  of  May,  was  informed  that  it  had  a  garri- 
son of  two  battalions  of  infantry,  and  that  near  the  town 
was  a  body  of  a  thousand  cossacks,  in  camp.  The  advanc- 
ed guard  of  our  small  corps,  with  which  was  the  general  and 


300  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

The  corps  of  general  Chlapowski  left  Bielsk  in 
the  direction  of  the  town  of  Orla,  and  entered  the 
forest  of  Bialowiek,  where  he  received  reinforce- 
ments of  Lithuanian  insurgents. 

On  the  same  day  that  our  main  army  fought  at 
Ostrolenka,  the  26th  of  May,  this  little  corps  had 
an  engagement  with  the  enemy  in  the  environs  of 
Narewka.  A  considerable  Russian  detachment, 
under  the  command  of  general  Rengardt,  composed 
of  6,000  infantry,  3,000  cavalry,  and  five  pieces  of 
cannon  —  in  all,  nearly  9,000  men  —  was  posted 
near  Nasielsk.  This  considerable  force  was  at- 
tacked by  our  small  corps,  to  which  were  added 
some  hundreds  of  insurgents,  making  in  all,  a  force 
of  not  more  than  a  thousand  men.  The  Russians 
were  completely  beaten  in  this   action.      Full  a 

several  of  his  officers,  approached  the  barriers  of  the  town. 
The  Russian  sentinel  observing  our  party,  and  seeing  a 
general  officer  among  them,  did  not  recognize  them  as  ene- 
mies, but  called  the  guard  to  give  them  the  honors  of  the 
place.  General  Chlapovi^ski,  on  the  approach  of  the  guard, 
commanded  them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  which  they  did. 
The  same  ceremony  was  gone  through  with  the  grand-guard 
in  the  square  of  the  town,  and  the  Russians  mechanically 
obeyed  these  orders,  in  a  state  of  amazement.  General 
Chlapowski  fearing  that  he  might  be  surrounded  by  the  cos- 
sacks,  left  his  infantry  volunteers  to  disperse  any  detach- 
ments of  the  enemy  in  the  town  that  might  rally  to  oppose 
him,  and  led  all  the  artillery  and  cavalry  against  the  camp 
of  the  Cossacks.  The  Russian  infantry  who  attempted  to 
make  a  resistance  in  the  town,  were  dispersed  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  inhabitants, 
they  were  all  made  prisoners  ;  while  by  the  attack  of  the 
artillery  and  cavalry,  the  encamped  cossacks  were  entirely 
dispersed,  and  several  of  them  taken  prisoners.  General 
Chlapowski  left  his  prisoners  in  the  care  of  the  inhabitants, 
taking  with  him  only  those  who  were  Poles,  and  who  volun- 
teered their  services. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  301 

thousand  prisoners  were  taken,  and  all  their  artil- 
lery. An  important  advantage  of  this  affair,  w^as 
the  taking  of  a  great  transport  of  some  hundred 
vehicles  with  provisions,  destined  for  the  Russian 
grand  army.  By  the  dispersion  and  ruin  of  this 
corps,  the  department  of  Bialystok  was  entirely 
cleared  of  the  Russians,  and  nothing  interrupted 
the  formation  and  organization  of  the  insurgent 
forces.  The  taking  of  Bielsk,  and  the  affair  of 
Narewka,  will  be  admitted  by  the  reader  to  have 
been  above  the  rank  of  ordinary  achievements,  and 
should  immortalize  the  handful  of  brave  men  which 
formed  this  detachment.  They  may  be  pointed 
at,  as  examples,  with  many  others,  in  this  war,  of 
how  much  can  be  effected  by  that  prompt  and 
energetic  action  which  no  ordinary  motives  will 
sustain. 

While  the  affairs  of  Lithuania  and  Samogitia, 
and  those  in  the  department  of  Bialystok,  wore 
this  favorable  aspect,  a  new  corps  was  approaching 
to  aid  this  propitious  state  of  things,  to  protect  the 
insurrections,  and,  as  might  be  confidently  hoped, 
to  bring  them  to  a  sure  and  happy  result.  The 
new  force  destined  for  this  object  consisted  of  the  2d 
division,  reinforced  by  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  which 
force  quitted  Lomza  on  the  27th  for  Lithuania. 

Before  returning  to  the  operations  of  the  grand 
army,  we  will  give  a  short  recapitulation  of  the 
forces  which  had  been  sent  into  Lithuania  and 
Samogitia,  at  successive  periods,  to  support  the 
insurrections  in  those  provinces. 
38 


302  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  first  corps  under  general  Chlapowski,  left, 
on  the  20th  of  May,  the  village  of  Xienzopol,  with 
this  destination ;  —  to  enter  the  department  of  Bia- 
lystok,  to  occupy  the  forest  of  Bialowiez,  in  which 
were  collected  the  forces  of  the  revolted  Lithu- 
anians, with  the  view  to  organize  these  forces  ; 
from  that  position  to  act  on  the  Russian  communi- 
cations, and,  if  circumstances  might  allow  it,  to 
make  an  approach  upon  Wilno.  This  little  corps, 
as  we  have  seen,  was  composed  of  190  infantry 
volunteers  mounted,  the  1st  regiment  of  lancers, 
consisting  of  480  horsemen,  and  two  pieces  of  light 
artillery. 

The  second  corps,  under  the  command  of  colonel 
Sierakowski,  left,  a  few  days  before  that  of  gen- 
eral Chlapowski,  with  the  view,  as  we  have  also 
seen,  to  follow  and  observe  the  division  of  general 
Saken,  who  had  been  cut  off  by  general  Skrzynecki 
from  the  Russian  guard,  and  compelled  to  remain 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Narew.  This  corps  con- 
sisted of  two  battalions  of  infantry  of  the  18th 
regiment,  recently  formed,  amounting  to  1,500 
men,  two  squadrons  of  horse,  of  Plock,  also  recently 
formed,  250  in  all,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon. 
This  corps,  in  the  execution  of  its  instructions, 
obtained  several  advantages  over  general  Saken, 
near  Stavisk.  Colonel  Sierakowski  then  advanced 
to  the  environs  of  the  little  town  of  Graiewo,  where 
he  took  a  strong  position,  and  awaited  the  arrival 
of  the  corps  of  general  Gielgud. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  303 

The  third  corps,  under  the  command  of  general 
Gielgud,  being  the  second  division,  left  the  town 
of  Lomza  on  the  27th  of  May.  It  w^as  composed 
of  9  battalions  of  infantry,  consisting  of  4,500 
men,  5  squadrons  of  cavalry  of  600  men,  160  sap- 
pers, and  24  pieces  of  cannon.  The  total  force  of 
these  three  corps  was  then  as  follows  : 

Artillery^  28  pieces.  Infantry^  6,350  men.  Cav- 
alry, 1,300. 

Besides  these  forces,  which  were  detached  from 
the  grand  army,  there  were  formed  in  Lithu- 
ania, several  regiments  of  infantry  and  cavalry, 
which  we  shall  designate  in  the  sequel,  but  which 
did  not  commence  active  service  until  the  battle  of 
Wilno. 

To  return  to  the  main  army.  Such  was  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  operations  of  general  Skr- 
zynecki  upon  the  Russian  guard  were  executed, 
that,  as  we  have  said,  he  was  on  his  retrograde 
march,  after  having  driven  that  guard  beyond  the 
frontiers,  before  marshal  Diebitsch  received  intelli- 
gence of  his  operations.  It  was  then  that  the 
Russian  commander,  having  no  hope  of  saving  the 
guard,  conceived  the  plan  of  attempting,  by  a 
prompt  diversion  towards  Ostrolenka,  to  cut  off 
the  communication  of  our  army  with  Warsaw. 
[See  Plan  XXIX.] 

With  this  view  he  evacuated  his  position  at 
Sucha  and  Mordy  (o),  passed  by  Sokolow,  crossed 
the  river  Bug  at  Granne  (16),  entered  into  the 
Russian  province  of  Bialystok,  passed  through  a 


304  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

corner  of  this  department  on  the  24th  of  Maj,  and 
crossing  the  little  river  Nurzec  (R),  at  Ciechano- 
wiec  (17),  entered  again  into  the  Polish  territory, 
and  occupied  the  road  of  Czyzew  (18)  and  Zam- 
browo  (19).  Without  any  delay  he  pushed  his 
advanced  guard  as  far  as  Czyzew. 

General  Lubinski  was  then  at  Nur.  This  little 
town  was  at  the  same  distance  from  Ostrolenka  as 
Czyzew,  but  the  communications  with  Ostrolenka 
were  more  difficult,  Czyzew  being  on  a  principal 
road.  The  enemy,  observing  this  circumstance, 
and  taking  it  for  granted  that  Lubinski  was  cut 
off  from  the  main  army,  sent  an  aid-de-camp  with 
a  flag  of  truce  to  summon  him  to  surrender.*  This 
summons  was  rejected. 

*  The  officer  announced  to  general  Lubinski  that  the  whole 
Russian  army  had  occupied  Ciechanowiec,  that  the  advanc- 
ed guard  was  already  at  Czyzew,  and  that  those  circumstan- 
ces ought  to  satisfy  him  that  his  communications  with  his 
friends  were  entirely  cut  off,  and  that  therefore  he  would  do 
w€ll  to  lay  down  his  arms  and  throw  himself  upon  the  mag- 
nanimity of  the  Emperor.  To  this  proposition  general  Lu- 
binski replied,  that  although  such  might  be  his  situation,  he 
could  not  think  of  surrendering  himself  without  a  struggle ; 
and  to  satisfy  the  aid-de-camp  that  this  was  not  his  individ- 
ual feeling  alone,  but  that  it  was  partaken  by  the  whole  body 
of  his  soldiers,  he  would  present  him  to  them,  and  enable 
him  to  satisfy  himself  personally  on  this  point.  The  aid-de- 
camp was  then  conducted  to  the  front  of  the  line,  and  he 
addressedhimself  to  the  troops,  exhibiting  the  circumstances 
under  which  they  were  placed,  assuring  them  that  the  brav- 
est resistance  would  be  hopeless,  and  inviting  them  to  sur- 
render. This  address  was  interrupted  by  a  universal  shout 
of  indignation  from  the  soldiery,  and  they  commanded  him 
to  leave  their  presence.  This  division  was  composed  of  two 
regiments  of  old  light  infantry,  and  two  recently  formed 
regiments  of  Mazurs. 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  306 

After  the  departure  of  the  aid-de-camp,  general 
Lubmski  commenced  his  march,  and,  though  it  was 
practicable  for  him  to  reach  Ostrolenka  by  a  direct 
route,  yet  thinking  it  possible  that  Czyzew  was 
not  occupied  by  a  very  strong  force,  and  that  he 
might  profit  by  the  approach  of  night,  he  deter- 
mined to  march  at  once  upon  the  latter  place,  and 
to  attack  the  Russian  advanced  guard  there.  This 
bold  thought  was  executed  with  perfect  success. 
On  reaching  Czyzew  he  found  two  regiments  of 
cavalry  encamped,  and  wholly  unprepared  for  an 
attack.  They  had  not  even  an  outer-guard  upon 
the  road  to  Nur.  He  made  a  charge  which  threw 
them  into  complete  disorder,  and  compelled  them 
to  retreat  with  the  loss  of  a  great  number  in  killed 
and  wounded,  and  four  to  five  hundred  prisoners. 
It  was  to  be  regretted  that  the  necessity  under 
which  general  Lubinski  was  placed  of  reaching 
Ostrolenka  as  soon  as  possible,  did  not  permit  him 
to  profit  farther  by  these  advantages. 

On  the  next  day,  (the  25th)  the  rear-guard  of 
our  main  army,  consisting  of  the  brigade  of  general 
Wengierski,  was  attacked  at  mid-day  by  the  Rus- 
sians, on  the  side  of  Zambrowo,  near  Kleczkowo 
(20),  a  village  situated  at  the  distance  of  three 
leagues  from  Ostrolenka,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Narew.  General  Diebitsch,  being  under  the  con- 
viction that  he  had  encountered  the  whole  Polish 
force  at  Kleczkowo,  consolidated  his  strength 
there,  and  determined  to  come  to  action,  and,  by 
so  doing,  give  time  for  another  corps  to  advance  in 


306  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

the  direction  of  Czyzew,  and  occupy  Ostrolenka, 
by  which  movement  he  trusted  that  our  army  w^ould 
he  cut  off  from  Warsaw,  and  forced  to  retire  to 
Lomza.  The  Russian  commander,  presuming  on 
the  celerity  of  his  movements,  was  so  confident  of 
meeting  our  whole  army  at  this  point,  that  nothing 
could  exceed  his  surprise  on  learning  that  our  army 
had  already  passed  the  town,  and  that  it  was  only 
the  rear-guard  which  was  before  him.*  In  order 
to  lose  no  time,  he  commenced  an  immediate  at- 
tack on  the  rear-guard  thus  posted  at  Kleczkowo. 
Our  general  in  chief  who  was  then  at  Troszyn,  on 
hearing  the  fire  of  the  Russians  at  Kleczkowo,  im- 
mediately repaired  thither,  and  profiting  by  the 
fine  position  of  that  place,  which  commanded  the 
marshy  plain  on  the  side  of  the  enemy,  passable 
only  by  a  dyke,  the  bridge  over  which  had  been 
demolished  by  our  troops,  ordered  general  Wen- 
gierski  to  sustain  himself  in  that  position  until 
night.  In  vain  the  Russian  cavalry  and  infantry 
attempted  to  pass  this  dyke.  At  each  approach 
they  were  uniformly  driven  back  by  a  destructive 
fire  of  grape  from  our  artillery.  In  vain  were  six- 
teen pieces  of  their  artillery  employed  to  silence 
this  fire  ;  our  position  was  too  commanding  to  be 
affected  by  them. 

*  Marshal  Diebitsch  must  by  this  time  have  become  satis- 
fied that  the  operations,  both  in  strategy  and  tactics,  of  the 
Polish  commander,  were  the  result  of  extensive  and  just 
combinations.  General  Skrzynecki,  in  contriving  this  plan 
(with  the  valuable  assistance  of  general  Prondzynski,)  of 
surprising  and  defeating  the  Russian  guard,  had  satisfied 
himself  of  the  practicability  of  returning  to  Ostrolenka  with- 
out being  intercepted. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  307 

The  brigade  of  general  Wengierski  having  held 
out  in  this  position,  with  the  greatest  determina- 
tion against  a  vastly  superior  force,  for  nine  hours, 
left  the  place  at  night  in  the  greatest  order,  and 
followed  the  main  army.  On  the  next  day,  the 
26th  of  May,  our  army  Qi)  evacuated  Ostrolenka, 
passed  the  river  Narew,  and  took,  upon  the  right 
bank  of  that  river,  opposite  to  Ostrolenka,  a  new 
position,^  leaving  the  bridge  partly  destroyed,  but 
in  such  a  state  that  the  Russian  infantry  might 
pass  it  slowly.  Not  long  after  we  had  occupied 
our  position,  the  enemy  comm.enced  debouching 
over  this  bridge. 


BATTLE  OF  OSTROLENKA.     iSee  Plan  XXX.] 

The  battle  of  Ostrolenka,  which  cost  us  the  lives 
of  two  brave  generals,  Kicki,  and  Henry  Kaminski, 
was,  in  point  of  tactics,  simply  the  passage  of  the 
river.  We  may  presume  that  the  intention  of  gen- 
eral Diebitsch  was,  by  passing  the  Narew  at  this 
point,  to  send  at  the  same  time  a  corps  to  Serock, 
in  order  to  cut  off  our  army,  and  place  it  between 
two  fires.     At  11  o'clock,  the  Russian  infantry  {a) 

*  The  question  might  be  asked  by  some,  whether  this  bat- 
tle was  necessary,  and  why  general  Skrzynecki  did  not  pur- 
sue his  route  to  Warsaw,  as  he  could  have  done  without  mo- 
lestation. In  the  course  which  he  took,  he  had  two  objects 
in  view ;  the  one  was,  to  cause  this  destructive  passage  of 
the  Narew,  and  thus  diminish  the  forces  of  his  enemy  ;  the 
other  was,  by  thus  occupying  general  Diebitsch  to  give  time 
to  general  Gielgud  to  leave  Lomza  in  safety  for  Lithuania. 
[See  Plan  XXIX.] 


308  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

under  the  protection  of  a  most  terrible  fire  from 
fifty-four  pieces  of  artillery,  (6)  placed  in  a  very 
strong  position  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Narew, 
commenced,  as  we  have  said,  the  passage  of  the 
river.  General  Skrzynecki,  not  wishing  absolutely 
to  prevent  this  passage,  placed  but  sixteen  cannon 
in  advantageous  positions,  on  slight  elevations  of 
ground,  (d)  designed  to  prevent  the  repairing  of 
the  bridge,  and  the  consequent  rapid  passage  of  the 
enemy's  infantry.  The  powerful  Russian  artillery 
attempted,  without  success,  to  silence  these  few 
pieces.  Their  fire  was  equally  harmless  to  the 
main  army  (A)  ;  for  the  latter  was  withdrawn  to 
an  advantageous  position.  Our  artillery,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  used  with  great  effect,  being 
brought  to  bear  directly  upon  the  bridge.  During 
these  operations,  the  advanced  guard,  with  all  the 
baggage  and  ammunition  of  the  army,  received  the 
order  to  take  up  the  march  towards  Warsaw. 

At  3  o'clock,  our  artillery  received  orders  to 
evacuate  their  position,  and  the  skirmishers  (e) 
were  ordered  to  advance.  On  the  cessation  of  the 
fire  of  the  artillery,  the  light  tropps  commenced  a 
warm  fire  upon  the  columns  of  Russian  infantry, 
which  had  already  passed  the  bridge.  The  enemy, 
profiting  by  the  withdrawal  of  our  artillery,  com- 
menced repairing  the  bridge,  to  afford  a  passage 
for  large  masses  of  infantry,  and  artillery.  A 
strong  Russian  column  (/),  after  passing  the 
bridge,  took  a  direction  to  the  left,  to  throw  itself 
into  the  forest  which  borders  on  the  Narew,  at  the 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  309 

distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  the  bridge  ; 
and  by  occupying  that  forest  and  the  communica- 
tions which  traverse  it,  they  thought  to  commence 
an  attack  upon  our  right  wing.  To  have  permitted 
this  would  have  much  deranged  our  dispositions. 
The  Polish  commander,  observing  that  a  great 
body  of  the  Russian  infantry  had  already  passed 
the  bridge,  and  that  this  strong  column  had  been 
sent  to  occupy  the  forest,  ordered  general  Lubin- 
ski  to  send  forward  a  brigade  of  cavalry  (§•),  to 
charge  upon  this  column,  on  its  march,  and  at  the 
same  time  ordered  general  Kaminski,  with  a  divi- 
sion of  infantry,  to  make  a  charge  upon  the  Russian 
infantry  near  the  bridge.  These  two  attacks  were 
executed  with  great  promptness  and  spirit,  and 
were  successful.  The  column  which  the  cavalry 
attacked  on  its  march  to  the  forest,  was  dispersed 
with  the  loss  of  more  than  a  hundred  men  left  on 
the  field.  The  attack  of  the  division  of  general 
Kaminski  was  equally  fortunate.  The  Russian 
columns,  on  receiving  his  charge,  fell  back  upon 
the  bridge,  or  concealed  themselves  under  the 
banks  of  the  river.  These  two  attacks  cost  us  the 
lives  of  the  two  generals,  Kaminski  and  Kicki, 
who  threw  themselves  upon  the  enemy,  at  the 
head  of  their  respective  columns.  Their  loss  was 
deeply  regretted  by  the  army  and  the  nation. 

Although  the  result  of  these  attacks  was  favor- 
able to  us,  yet,  the  general   in  chief,  considering 
the  terribly  destructive  fire  of  the  Russian  artillery, 
which  commanded  the  whole  plain  near  the  bridge, 
39 


310  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

decided  that  the  repetition  of  them  would  cost  us 
too  severe  a  loss,  and  commanded  both  the  cavalry 
and  infantry  to  withdraw  to  their  former  position, 
and  to  cease  firing. 

At  6  o'clock,  the  firing  on  both  sides  had  entirely 
ceased.  Profiting  by  this  interval,  the  Polish  army 
pursued  its  route,  and  the  Russian  infantry  again 
commenced  debouching  upon  the  bridge.  At  dusk, 
nearly  the  whole  Polish  army  was  on  the  march  to 
Warsaw,  and  one  division  only  [Plan  XXXI,  (J)] 
remained  on  our  position.  On  the  part  of  the 
Russian  army,  we  may  suppose  that  nearly  two 
divisions  had  passed  the  bridge,  when  our  general 
in  chief,  wishing  to  profit  by  the  obscurity  of  the 
night,  in  order  to  subject  the  enemy  to  still  greater 
losses,  conceived  the  bold  idea  of  advancing  our 
artillery  (a)  so  near  the  Russian  columns  (6),  as  to 
pour  upon  them  a  fire  of  grape-shot.  General 
Skrzynecki  himself  approached  colonel  Boehm, 
and  taking  the  command  of  the  twelve  pieces  of 
light  artillery  under  him,  led  them  in  person  to  the 
distance  of  within  three  hundred  paces  of  the 
enemy,  and  brought  forward  at  the  same  time  two 
regiments  of  cavalry  for  the  support  of  this  artil- 
lery. Placing  this  little  detachment  in  a  very 
advantageous  position  behind  small  elevations  of 
ground,  he  commanded  colonel  Boehm  to  com- 
mence firing.  The  Russian  columns  were  thrown 
into  confusion  by  this  unexpected  and  terrible  fire ; 
and  it  may  be  imagined  that  their  loss  was  im- 
mense, enclosed  as   they  were  within   a    narrow 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  311 

space,  on  the  bank  and  on  the  bridge.  Every  dis- 
charge of  the  artillery  was  v^ith  eifect,  and  by  the 
testimony  of  the  prisoners  taken,  their  loss  must 
have  amounted  to  an  entire  brigade,  without  esti- 
mating those  who  left  the  field  wounded,  and  those 
who  fell  into  the  river.  On  our  side,  this  attack 
cost  us  only  the  loss  of  two  officers  of  the  artillery, 
although  this  detachment  was  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  the  whole  Russian  artillery.*  Our  battery  fired 
but  three  rotmds,  when  the  general  gave  the  order 
to  withdraw,  and  follow  the  main  army  (A)  to 
Warsaw.f 

These  are  the  details  of  the  battle  of  Ostrolenka, 
in  which  the  loss  on  the  enemy's  side  was  from 
10,000  to  15,000  men,  and  on  our  side,  the  two 
general  officers  above  mentioned,  with  about  4,000 
men. 

*  This  fire  of  the  Russian  artillery  might  almost  be  com- 
pared to  the  terrible  fire  of  the  25th  of  February,  at  Gro- 
chow,  in  the  attack  on  the  forest  of  elders. 

t  Tliis  manoeuvre,  of  bringing  the  artillery  so  near  the 
columns  of  the  enemy,  and  under  the  terrible  fire  of  the 
Russian  artillery,  was  one  of  those  bold  and  hazardous  steps 
which  were  necessary  for  the  object  of  reducing  the  im- 
mense superiority  of  the  enemy's  force.  The  personal 
agency  of  general  Skrzynecki  was  demanded  for  a  blow 
like  this  ;  and  in  executing  it  he  displayed  equally  the 
qualities  of  the  soldier  and  the  general.  The  admiration 
of  his  soldiers  was  excited  by  seeing  him  dismount  and 
place  himself  with  the  utmost  coolness  at  the  head  of  this 
battery  of  artillery,  exposed  to  the  incessant  fire  of  that  of 
the  enemy.  Neither  the  fear  of  the  enemy,  nor  the  entrea- 
ties of  his  ofiicers,  who  begged  him,  on  their  knees,  to  with- 
draw and  to  reserve  his  valuable  life  for  his  country,  could 
induce  him  to  move  from  his  place,  until  he  had  seen  the 
successful  termination  of  this  effort. 


312  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Os- 
trolenka,  the  division  of  geaeral  Gielgud  received 
orders  to  depart  from  the  town  of  Lomza.  Gen- 
eral Dembinski,  on  the  night  of  the  same  day  was 
ordered  to  join  him^  wYth  two  squadrons  of  lancers 
of  Poznan.  The  latter  general  left  the  field  of 
battle  with  these  squadrons,  and  on  the  next  day 
joined  the  division  of  general  Gielgud.* 

*  For  those  who  have  asserted  that  general  Gielgud  was 
cut  off  from  the  main  body  of  the  Polish  forces  and  com- 
pelled to  escape  into  Lithuania,  the  sending  of  these  two 
squadrons  of  lancers  to  join  him,  will  be  a  sufficient  answer. 
The  division  of  general  Gielgud  could  have  even  remained 
at  Lomza  for  as  many  as  three  days  after  this  battle. 


i 


^   ^^-^o^ 


kim^mj^iimm^'-^f^ 


^^s^ 


^  Q 


'7^( 


(U. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Operations  of  the  Lithuanian  corps. — Battle  of  Raygrod  and  defeat  of 
the  Russian  corps  of  Saken. — Importance  of  this  first  success  in  Li- 
thuania.— General  Gielgud  neglects  to  follow  up  his  advantages. — 
He  loses  time  by  passing  the  Niemen  at  Gielgudyszki,  and  enables 
the  enemy  to  concentrate  his  forces  in  Wilno. — Entrance  into  Lithua- 
nia and  reception  by  the  inhabitants. — Position  of  the  two  main  armies. 
— The  Russian  forces  remain  inactive  and  receive  supplies  from  Prus- 
^    sia. — Death  of  marshal  Diebitsch. 

On  the  27th  of  May,  the  corps  of  general  Giel- 
gud, attached  to  which  were  generals  Rohland, 
Szymanowski,  Dembinski,  and  colonel  Pientka, 
left  Lomza,  and  commenced  their  march  into 
Lithuania.  On  the  evening  of  that  day,  they 
arrived  at  Stawisk,  passing  through  Szczuczyn 
and  Graiewo.  In  the  last  town  they  were  joined 
by  the  little  corps  of  general,  then  colonel,  Siera- 
kowski,  which,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  had 
be<en  employed  in  observing  general  Saken,  and 
was  here  occupying  an  advantageous  position. 
The  force  of  this  corps  has  been  already  stated. 


BATTLE   OF   RAYGROD.     [Plaji  XXXIL] 

I  have  divided  this  battle  into  two  different  peri- 
ods, marked  by  the  two  different  positions  which 
the  enemy  successively  took. 

On  examining  the  plan  of  the  first  position  of 
the  Russians,  it  will  be  at  once  seen  that  they  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  arrival  of  our  corps.  They 
supposed  that  they  were  acting  against  the  corps 


314  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

of  colonel  Sierakowski  alone,  and  they  had  con- 
ceived the  design  of  out-flanking  him.  On  the 
morning  of  the  29th,  our  whole  corps,  quitting  the 
little  town  of  Graiewo,  met,  at  the  distance  of 
about  a  quarter  of  a  league,  the  Russian  flankers, 
against  whom  our  own  were  immediately  sent  out. 
The  Russian  cavalry  began  to  retire.  Our  columns 
continued  their  march  slowly,  having  the  forces^ 
of  colonel  Sierakowski  in  front,  as  an  advanced 
guard,^  and  we  thus  arrived  at  the  lake  of  Ray- 
grod,  the  advanced  guard  meeting  only  small  de- 
tachments of  the  Russian  cavalry,  which  retired  as 
we  approached.  On  reaching  the  lake,  our  ad- 
vanced guard  w^ere  fired  upon  by  the  Russian  skir- 
mishers, concealed  in  the  woods  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  lake,  w^hich  bordered  upon  the  cause- 
way. Colonel  Sierakowski  received  orders  to  en- 
gage with  them.  He  sent  forward  his  own  light 
troops,  and  placed  two  cannons  upon  the  causeway, 
wdth  which  he  commenced  a  fire  upon  the  woods. 
The  Russian  infantry  instantly  evacuated  the 
woods,  and  allowed  our  skirmishers  to  occupy 
them.  By  this  manoeuvre,  the  Russians  intended 
to  lead  on  our  forces  with  the  view^  to  attack  them 
on  their  flank,  and  even  to  surround  them,  by  send- 
ing detachments  («,  b)  to  the  right  and  left,  as  will 
be  seen  on  the  plan.  In  a  short  time  our  larger 
force,  under  general  Gielgud,  commenced  debouch- 

*  This  disposition  was  made,  expressly  with  the  view  of 
confirming  the  Russian  general  in  the  idea,  that  he  was  op- 
posed by  colonel  Sierakowski  alone. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  315 

ing  between  the  two  lakes.  A  strong  column  (c) 
of  our  infantry  took  a  direction  towards  the  forest, 
to  the  left,  and  another  column  {d)  to  that  on  the 
right,  to  dislodge  the  enemy,  if  he  should  be  found 
to  have  occupied  either.  At  the  same  time  our 
artillery  (e),  to  the  number  of  fourteen  pieces, 
taking  a  position  at  the  side  of  the  causeway,  op- 
posite to  that  of  the  enemy  (/"),  commenced  firing. 
The  whole  of  our  cavalry,  and  the  greater  part  of 
our  infantry  remained  in  the  centre,  and  constituted 
a  formidable  front. 

In  a  few  moments  after  these  dispositions  were 
made,  a  brisk  fire  of  tirailleurs  was  commenced  on 
our  left  wing  (A).  The  Russian  centre  (B),  suf- 
fering from  the  fire  of  our  artillery,  and  taken  by 
surprise  at  the  unexpected  strength  of  our  forces, 
began  to  waver.  This  was  a  signal  for  our  ad- 
vance. Colonel  Pientka,  who  commanded  the 
artillery,  gave  the  order.  A  strong  column  of  three 
battalions  of  infantry  commenced  the  hurrah,  and 
charged  with  the  bayonet,  upon  the  wavering  col- 
umns of  the  enemy.  At  the  same  time,  general 
Dembinski  gave  the  order  to  our  cavalry  (^g)  to 
charge  upon  that  of  the  enemy  on  the  right  and 
left.  The  first  squadron  of  the  lancers  of  Poznan 
received  the  order  to  throw  themselves  forward, 
and  fall  upon  the  breaking  columns  of  the  enemy. 
The  greatest  consternation  and  disorder  began  to 
exist  in  the  Russian  ranks.  It  was  no  longer  a 
retreat ;  it  was^a  flight.  This  squadron  of  lancers, 
commanded  by  the  brave  major  Mycielski,  per- 


316  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

formed  prodigies  of  valor.  They  entered  the  tovra 
simultaneously  with  the  Russian  columns,  cutting 
down  immense  numbers  of  the  enemy,  and  taking 
many  prisoners.  This  squadron  courageously  re- 
mained in  the  streets  of  the  city,  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  the  enemy's  infantry,  who  had  occupied  the 
houses,  until  the  arrival  of  our  own  infantry.  In 
this  exposed  situation  they  lost  their  commander.* 

*  The  reader  will  allow  me  to  give  some  details  of  this 
charge  of  cavalry,  which  was,  indeed,  of  an  extraordinary 
character.  At  the  moment  that  the  Russian  centre  began 
to  waver  ;  —  with  the  view  to  continue  and  augment  the 
disorder  of  the  enemy,  and  to  break  their  front,  order  was 
given  to  the  cavalry  to  push  their  attacks,  without  intermis- 
sion, on  the  sides  of  the  great  road.  With  this  force  was 
the  1st  squadron  of  the  lancers  of  Poznan,  of  between  80 
and  100  men.  This  squadron  threw  themselves  upon  the 
Russian  columns,  and,  simultaneously  with  them,  entered 
the  town,  which  was  full  of  the  enemy's  infantry.  Far  from 
being  discouraged  by  this  overwhelming  force,  the  brave 
Poznanians  penetrated  the  different  streets,  and  continued 
their  attack  on  the  enemy  on  every  side.  But  the  Russian 
infantry  protected  themselves  within  the  houses,  and  behind 
the  walls,  and  commenced  a  fire  of  musquetry,  which  fell 
like  hail  upon  this  brave  handful  of  lancers,  so  that  it  would 
have  been  thought  that  not  a  man  would  have  escaped.  It 
was  impossible  for  our  lancers  either  to  advance  or  retire, 
for  the  streets  before  them  were  commanded  by  artillery, 
and  the  enemy's  columns  of  infantry  had  closed  in  behind 
them  ;  there  was  only  one  outlet  for  them,  which  was  by  a 
small  street,  issuing  out  of  the  town  to  the  left,  and  that 
was  also  occupied  by  the  enemy.  There  was  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  force  their  way  through  it.  Our  Hulans  then, 
forming  a  phalanx  of  lances,  opened  a  passage  through  the 
enemy,  and  quitted  the  town.  It  was  here  that  the  brave 
Mycielski  fell.  The  brave  Poznanians,  leaving  the  town, 
by  the  side  of  the  lake,  whither  the  Russian  right  wing  had 
retreated  and  were  about  entering  the  city,  presented  to  the 
Russians  the  impression  that  the  city  was  in  possession  of  our 
troops,  and  supposing  themselves  between  two  fires,  they  no 
longer  hesitated  to  lay  down  their  arms  to  the  pursuing  force* 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  317 

These  several  attacks,  which  did  not  occupy 
two  hours,  caused'an  immense  loss  to  the  enemy. 
Three  entire  battalions,  w^hich  formed  their  right 
wing  (C),  consisting  of  2,000  men,  were  taken 
prisoners,  with  three  superior  officers,  and  fourteen 
of  a  lower  grade.  By  the  entry  of  our  forces,  the 
enemy  were  driven  from  the  town,  and  took  an- 
other position  (D)  upon  elevated  ground,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  a  small  stream,  near  the  town. 
This  position  was  strong,  and  commanded  the  town 
and  the  whole  of  the  other  side  of  the  stream. 
General  Saken  would  certainly  have  remained  long 
in  this  position,  if  our  right  wing  under  colonel 
Koss  had  not,  as  we  shall  see,  succeeded  in  passing 
the  stream  at  a  higher  point  (i),  and  acted  on  his 
flank.  The  Russian  general,  as  soon  as  he  had 
established  himself  in  his  new  position,  commenced 
a  fire  upon  the  town,  w^hich  was  returned  by  our 
artillery.  It  was  during  this  fire  that  colonel  Koss 
succeeded  in  passing  the  stream,  at  a  quarter  of  a 
league  above  the  city,  on  the  right.  This  was  ef- 
fected by  demolishing  the  buildings  in  the  vicinity," 
and  making  a  passage  for  the  artillery  from  their 
materials.  General  Saken,  seeing  his  left  wing 
thus  menaced,  evacuated  his  position,  in  which,  as 
we  have  said,  but  for  this  attack  on  his  flank,  he 
could  have  well  supported  himself  for  some  time. 

At  3  o'clock   the  Russians  commenced  their  re- 
treat upon  the  road  to  Kowno,  and  thus  terminated 
a  battle  of  the  most  advantageous  character  for  us, 
and  with  which  begins  an  important  era  in  our  affairs, 
40 


318  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

By  this  battle  the  Polish  forces  had  made  the 
acquisition  of  great  advantages,  both  in  respect  to 
strategy  and  tactics,  and  the  highest  hopes  might 
reasonably  be  cherished  in  regard  to  the  future. 

It  was,  as  it  were,  a  return  of  the  state  of  things 
brought  about  by  the  victory  of  Iganie,  and  which 
menaced  the  enemy  with  total  ruin.  Our  main 
army  was  then  near  to  Warsaw,  composed  of  a 
force  of  considerable  strength,  and  which,  under 
the  command  of  Skrzynecki,  had  been  victorious 
in  every  battle.  New  troops  had  been  formed 
there.  Neither  provisions  nor  forage  had  failed, 
for  they  were  constantly  sent  from  Warsaw  to  the 
army,  in  whatever  quarter  it  might  be. 

The  Russian  army  was,  in  the  mean  while,  suf- 
fering under  all  the  disadvantages  which  we  have 
before  described.  Wearied  and  discouraged  by  the 
disasters  of  the  campaign,  posted  in  regions  which 
they  had  devastated,  arid  therefore  suffering  from 
scarcity  ;  without  hospitals  for  their  sick  and  their 
wounded,  —  for  the  towns  which  contained  them 
had  been  destroyed, — and  with  the  cholera  ravag- 
ing their  ranks,  that  army  was  in  the  most  precari- 
ous situation.  The  communications  between  the 
Russian  provinces  and  the  army  were  entirely  cut 
off  by  the  Polish  Lithuanian  corps.  They  received 
their  provisions  exclusively  from  Prussia ;  and,  but 
for  this  assistance  of  Prussia,  no  one  can  doubt 
that  Diebitsch  would  have  been,  before  this,  under 
the  necessity  of  withdrawing  from  the  country, 
The  reader  will  also  remember  that  at  this  time, 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  319 

the  brave  and  skilful  general  Chrzanowski,  had 
obtained  repeated  advantages  over  Rudiger,  in  the 
environs  of  Zamosc,  and  that  the  little  corps  of 
general  Chlapowski  which  had  entered,  on  the  20th 
of  May,  the  Russian  department  of  Bialjstok,  was 
acting  with  great  advantages.  From  the  Baltic  to 
the  Black  Sea,  the  provinces  of  Podolia,  Volhynia, 
Ukraine,  as  well  as  Lithuania  and  Samogitia,  con- 
taining a  population  of  twelve  millions  of  inhabit- 
ants, were  in  a  state  of  excitement,  and  would 
soon  have  risen  in  the  holy  cause.  They  were 
waiting  only  the  arrival  of  our  victorious  troops. 
It  cannot  but  be  assumed,  therefore,  that  if  general 
Gielgud,  at  the  head  of  the  Polish  corps  in  Lithu- 
ania, had  acted  with  promptness  and  energy,  the 
most  happy  results  would  have  been  achieved.  It 
is,  therefore,  with  the  deepest  chagrin,  that  I  have 
to  record  that  from  the  moment  of  the  termination 
of  the  fortunate  battle  of  Raygrod,  all  the  opera- 
tions of  general  Gielgud  were  not  only  deficient  in 
energy,  but  altogether  wrongly  planned.  The  first 
fault  which  he  committed,  was  not  continuing  to 
press  the  attack  upon  general  Saken,  after  he  had 
retired  from  Raygrod.  Under  the  pretext  that  the 
soldiers  were  fatigued,  the  corps  was  encamped. 
This  pretext  was  groundless,  for  the  soldiers  them- 
selves demanded  to  be  led  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
In  this  camp  we  passed  the  whole  night,  and  left 
it  [Plan  XXXIII]  at  the  hour  of  nine  the  follow- 
ing morning ;  having  given  fifteen  hours  to  the 
retreating   enemy.      We  continued  our  march  to 


520  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Kowno,  through  the  duchy  of  Augustow.  On  the 
30th  of  May,  we  arrived  at  Suwalki  (1)  its  capital, 
and  remained  there  a  day  and  a  night,  without  any 
conceivable  reason.  The  enemy,  profiting  by  the 
slowness  of  our  movements,  escaped  the  certain 
destruction  with  which  he  had  been  threatened. 
On  the  1st  of  June,  we  arrived  at  Kalwaryia  (2), 
and  at  that  town  our  corps  was  very  uselessly  di- 
vided into  two  parts,  the  larger  (a),  under  general 
Gielgud,  took  the  road  to  Gielgudyszki  (3),  on  the 
Niemen,*  to  pass  the  river  at  that  point.  General 
Dembinski,  with  the  remainder  of  the  corps  (6), 
continued  on  the  main  road,  and  on  the  3d  of  June 
arrived  at  Alexota  (4). 

This  separation  of  our  forces  into  two  bodies,  to 
pass  the  Niemen  at  Gielgudyszki,  was  not  recom- 
mended by  any  conceivable  advantage,  and,  indeed, 
operated  much  to  our  injury.  This  plan  of  opera- 
tions was  also  in  opposition  to  the  instructions,  not 
only  of  the  general  in  chief,  but  of  the  National 
Government,  and  obstructed  the  rapid  execution  of 
the  great  designs  of  the  campaign. 

In  any  plan  for  the  occupation  of  a  foreign  coun- 
try, the  first  object  should  be  to  get.possession  of 
the  principal  towns,  for  at  those  points  are  chiefly 
concentrated  both  the  moral  and  physical  resources 
of  the  country.  Of  Lithuania,  the  town  of  Wilno 
(5)  is  the  capital.  Against  it  all  our  plans  should 
have  been  directed  ;  and,  in  fact,  the  instructions 

*  Gielgudyszki  was  the  paternal  estate  of  the  Polish 
general. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  321 

of  the  government  to  general  Gielgud  were  all  to 
this  effect.  By  a  pompt  occupation  of  that  city, 
we  should  have  unquestionably  reaped  the  greatest 
advantages.  As  Wilno  was  the  residence  of  the 
principal  officers  of  the  government  of  the  province, 
it  would  have  been  there  that  all  the  arrangements 
could  best  be  made  for  a  provisional  administration, 
and  for  the  convocation  of  a  conventional  Diet  of 
the  people.  In  regard  also  to  the  formation  of 
new  forces,  Wilno  was  the  place  that  presented  the 
greatest  facilities. 

Taking  all  these  circumstances  into  view,  it 
must  be  conceded  that  after  the  battle  of  Raygrod, 
the  first  object  of  general  Gielgud  ought  to  have 
been  to  march  upon  and  to  occupy  Wilno  with  the 
utmost  promptness.  With  this  view,  his  course 
should  have  been,  after  masking  his  movement  at 
Kowno,  to  have  passed  the  Niemen  (N)  at  Rum- 
szyski  (6),  a  village  which  was  about  sixteen 
English  miles  above  Kowno  (7)  and  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Wilno,  while  Gielgudyszki,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  thirty-two  miles  below  Kowno,  and  forty- 
eight  from  Rumszyski,  and  out  of  the  direction  of 
Wilno.  With  the  exception  of  that  of  general 
Saken,  no  other  Russian  force  was  interposed  be- 
tween us  and  Wilno.  Indeed  the  corps  of  general 
Chlapowski  (c),  with  which  he  had  traversed  the 
department  of  Bialystok,  was  at  that  moment  be- 
tween Kowno  and  Wilno,  a;nd  had  we  passed  at 
Rumszyski,  we  should  have  been  within  but  one 
day's   march   of  him.      It  is  evident,  then,  that 


322  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Wilno  would  have  fallen  into  our  hands  without  a 
blow.  All  these  advantages  were  sacrificed  by 
making  the  passage  at  Gielgudyszki.  General  Sa- 
ken,  meeting  with  no  interruption,  thus  escaped  a 
second  time,  and  marched  from  Kowno  to  Wilno. 
At  the  same  time  several  other  Russian  corps  be- 
gan to  concentrate  themselves  at  Wilno. 

The  corps  of  general  Dembinski,  having  main- 
tained a  moderate  fire  upon  Kowno  for  two  days, 
in  order  to  mask  our  movements  from  the  enemy, 
marched  for  Gielgudyszki,  to  follow  the  other  corps 
in  the  passage  of  the  river,  at  that  point,  on  the 
7th  of  June.  Our  troops  thus  entered  the  province 
of  Lithuania,  an  interesting  day  for  us,  thus  engaged 
in  the  effort  to  re-unite  this  dissevered  portion  of 
our  country  to  its  ancient  parent.  The  manner  in 
which  the  inhabitants  of  every  village  recei\^ed  us, 
expressive  of  the  warmest  satisfaction,  showed  that 
they  regarded  us  as  brothers.  This  reception 
deeply  affected  both  soldiers  and  officers.  They 
hailed  us  as  their  deliverers,  and  it  is  now  a  mourn- 
ful reflection  that,  owing  to  the  misconduct  of  our 
commanders,  that  enthusiasm,  instead  of  leading 
to  happy  results,  proved,  in  the  end,  only  an  aggra- 
vation of  their  misfortunes. 

Leaving  the  corps  of  general  Gielgud  upon  the 
Niemen,  we  will  return  again  to  the  operations  of 
the  grand  army,  and  of  the  different  detached  corps. 
Our  main  body,  which,  after  the  battle  of  Ostro- 
lenka,  retired  towards  Warsaw,  was  now  at  Praga, 


9' 


♦- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  323 

where  the  head-quarters  of  the  commander  in  chief 
were  fixed.  General  Skrzynecki,  during  the  re- 
pose of  the  army,  occupied  himself  with  its  re-or- 
ganization. 

In  the  environs  of  Zamosc,  the  corps  of  general 
Chrzanowski,  in  which  the  brave  general  Roma- 
rino  commanded  a  brigade,  was  sufficient  to  keep 
the  different  Russian  corps  in  check. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  the  Russian  army,  which,  up 
to  the  present  time,  continued  in  the  environs  of 
Ostrolenka,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Narew,  com- 
menced its  operations  upon  the  right  bank  of  that 
river.  A  considerable  corps,  amounting  to  20,000 
men,  passed  that  river  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Prasnysz.  The  principal  object  of  this  corps  was 
not  to  recommence  hostilities,  but  to  protect  the 
large  transports  of  provisions  which  were  sent  daily 
from  Prussia.  In  the  environs  of  Brzesc  was  the 
corps  of  general  Kreutz.  The  Russian  army  thus 
fed  by  Prussia,  remained  inactive  in  their  position 
at  Ostrolenka,  during  which  interval,  and  while 
he  was  perhaps  contriving  new  plans  for  our  subju- 
gation, occurred  the  sudden  death  of  marshal  Die- 
bitsch.  He  died  at  Kleczkowo,  not  far  from  Os- 
trolenka, on  the  9th  of  June.* 

*  The  reader  may  be  curious  to  know  some  details  of  the 
career  of  marshal  Diebitsch.  He  was  born  in  Silesia,  not 
far  from  Wroclaw,  the  capital  of  that  province.  His  father 
was  a  major  in  the  Prussian  service,  and  young  Diebitsch 
was  sent  by  him  at  an  early  age  to  the  military  school  at 
Berhn.  It  was,  perhaps,  in  about  the  year  1805,  that  he 
first  entered  the  Russian  military  service,  as  a  cadet  in  one 
of  the  regiments  of  the  guard,  from  which  he  was,  in  1807, 


324  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  provisional  command  of  the  Russian  army 
was  taken  by  general  Toll. 

If  the  reader  should  examine  closely  the  opera- 
tions of  the  two  armies  after  the  battle  of  Ostro- 
lenka.  he  will,  perhaps,  be  astonished  at  their  inac- 
tivity. He  will,  however,  acknowledge  that  the 
blame  of  that  inactivity  cannot  rest  upon  the  Po- 
lish side.  The  retreat  which  we  made  was  neces- 
sary ;  first,  for  the  sake  of  the  re-organizing  of  the 
army  ;  secondly,  for  the  object  of  leading  the  ene- 
my to  the  environs  of  Praga,  which  were  in  a  state 
of  devastation,  and  generally  into  the  region  be- 
tween the  Bug  and  the  Liwiec,  where  he  would 
not  be  able  to  support  himself;  and  in  this  manner 
to  force  him  either  to  attack  the  fortifications  of 

transferred  to  the  corps  of  engineers.  In  this  service  he  ad- 
vanced rapidly,  not  so  much  by  real  talent,  as  by  a  certain 
art  which  he  had  of  exhibiting  himself  to  the  best  advantage. 
In  the  place  of  aid-de-camp  of  the  late  emperor  Alexander, 
to  which  he  was  soon  advanced,  he  was  known  to  have  in- 
trigued in  opposition  to  the  interest  of  Poland.  These  in- 
trigues, as  well  as  those  which  he  afterwards  practised,  to 
supersede  Wittgenstein,  in  the  command  of  the  army  against 
Turkey,  degraded  him  in  the  esteem  of  all  upright  men. 
He  was  never  regarded  by  us  as  a  general  of  talent,  and  the 
truth  of  our  estimate  will  be  by  this  time  conceded. 

One  cannot  but  be  impressed  with  the  fate  which  has 
awaited  the  two  greatest  enemies  of  Poland,  Diebitsch  and 
Constantine.  Arrested  by  Providence,  amid  the  persecu- 
tions which  they  had  inflicted,  and  were  designing  to  inflict 
upon  our  country,  they  perished  in  disgrace.  They  died 
acting  the  part  of  the  enemies  of  humanity,  and  their  names 
thus  rest,  sealed  with  the  eternal  reproach  of  history.  Here 
is  a  fate  which  ought  to  alarm  despots.  The  thought  that  in 
the  moment  that  they  are  most  deeply  engaged  in  contriving 
the  oppression  of  their  fellow-men,  a  sudden  death  may 
come  upon  them,  and  thus  stigmatize  their  names  forever, 
should  teach  them  an  impressive  lesson. 


m 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  325 

Praga,  to  attempt  a  passage  of  the  Vistula,  or  to 
evacuate  the  country.  ^  That  either  of  the  two  first 
would  be  attempted,  while  the  insurrections  in 
Lithuania  and  Samogitia,  &:c,  were  in  progress, 
and  after  our  success  at  Rajgrod,  was  hardly  to 
have  been  expected  ;  for  the  one  would  cost  too 
great  a  sacrifice  of  men,  and  the  other  would  be 
attended  with  too  much  hazard.  If,  then,  the 
Russian  forces  undertook  nothing,  it  was  a  conse- 
quence of  their  critical  situation.  We  can,  in  fact, 
safely  assume  that  it  was  their  intention  to  evacu- 
ate the  country  ;  for  to  have  obtained  sufficient 
supplies  by  their  own  means  was  almost  impracti- 
cable. When,  therefore,  this  army  remained  there, 
it  was  only  because  it  was  fed  by  Prussia,  who  did 
not  scruple  openly  to  succor  the  enemy  in  his  per- 
ilous position,  by  sending  enormous  transports  by 
the  roads  of  Neydenburg  and  Mlawa.  It  was 
those  transports  which  saved  the  Russian  army 
from  the  utmost  extremity.  I  leave  to  the  reader 
to  judge,  then,  whether  it  was  with  one  enemv 
alone  that  the  Poles  had  to  contend.  The  Prus- 
sian government,  which  arrested  all  the  volunteers 
w^ho  were  passing  through  its  territory  to  augment 
our  ranks,  and  which  stopped  all  the  aids  of  money 
and  arms  sent  to  us  by  the  generous  friends  of  lib- 
erty in  other  countries,  took  every  occasion  to  aid 
and  protect  our  enemy.  If  that  government  has 
satisfied  its  own  inhuman  will,  by  this  interference 
to  injure  a  cause  so  sacred  as  that  of  the  Poles, 
they  have  unintentionally  aided  that  cause  by  rais- 


326  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

ing  its  merit  in  the  eyes  of  the  present  and  future 
ages,  who  will  know  with  what  difficulties  we  had 
to  struggle.  In  return  for  these  good  offices  of  the 
Prussian  government,  the  Poles  will  only  say,  — 
'  Przyidzie  kryska  na  malyska,'  —  'Every  one 
has  his  turn.' 

If  the  two  main  armies  were  at  rest,  it  was  not 
so  with  the  corps  in  the  palatinate  of  Lublin, 
where  general  Chrzanowski  beat,  on  the  10th  of 
June,  general  Rudiger,  between  Zamosc  and  Ucha- 
nia,  and  took  from  him  numerous  prisoners.  Gen- 
eral Rudiger  was  forced,  by  this  action,  to  retire  to 
Lublin,  and  to  cease  offensive  operations.  Gen- 
eral Chrzanowski  then  prepared  to  surprise  this 
corps,  with  the  aid  of  the  garrison  of  Zamosc. 

It  was  on  the  12th  of  June,  that  after  being  ap- 
prized of  the  continual  victories  of  general  Chrza- 
nowski, the  general,  in  chief  concluded  to  re-com- 
mence hostilities.  His  plan  was,  to  act  in  concert 
with  this  corps,  and  to  crush  the  enemy  in  all  the 
southern  parts  of  the  kingdom.  He  would  after- 
wards have  to  do  only  with  the  Russian  main  army, 
which  had  commenced  passing  the  Narew  and  en- 
tering into  the  palatinate  of  Plock,  to  keep  its  com- 
munications open  with  Prussia,  and  where  it  would 
have  been  in  a  manner  cooped  up  between  the 
Narew  and  the  Vistula,  with  insurrectionized  Lith- 
unia  in  its  rear,  and  our  army  in  its  front  or  flank, 
according  as  that  army  should  operate,  at  Stanis- 
lawow,  at  Wyskow,  or  at  Ostrolenka. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  327 

It  was  here  again  that  our  commander  in  chief 
felt  his  hopes  renewed,  confiding  always  in  the 
fortunate  result  of  the  operations  in  Lithuania, 
which  had  so  happily  commenced ;  but  he  was  to 
be  again  mournfully  disappointed,  by  the  pusilla- 
nimity of  the  generals  to  whom  the  all-important 
expedition  to  Lithuania  had  been  entrusted. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

General  Gielgud  advances  into  Lithuania. — Allows  a  Russian  corps  to 
pass  within  a  league  of  him  unperceived. — Operations  on  Wilno. — 
Enumeration  of  our  present  force. — Plan  of  a  simultaneous  attack 
upon  Wilno  on  opposite  sides  by  the  corps  in  two  divisions. — General 
Dembinski  engages  the  enemy  with  the  smaller  part  of  the  corps. — 
Being  unsupported  by  Gielgud,  is  forced  to  retreat. — General  Gielgud 
attacks  Wilno. — Battle  of  Wilno. — A  retreat  is  commenced. — Pro- 
digious efforts  of  the  Polish  cavalry  in  protecting  this  retreat. — Con- 
sequences of  the  repulse  from  Wilno. — The  removal  of  general  Giel- 
gud is  called  for. — General  Chlapowski  consents  to  take  the  virtual 
command  of  the  corps,  in  the  post  of  chef  d'etat  major. — Consider- 
ation on  the  state  of  things  consequent  to  the  battle  of  Wilno. — De- 
tails of  the  admirable  plan  of  operations  proposed  by  colonel  Valentin. 

The  forces  of  general  Gielgud  having  thus  crossed 
the  Niemen,  passed  a  night  at  Rewdany,  and  the 
next  day  [Plan  XXXIV,]  marched  on  to  Czay- 
kiszki  (1),  in  the  direction  of  Keydany.  We  can- 
not understand  why  general  Gielgud  did  not  attack 
Malinowski  (b),  who  passed  at  the  distance  of  half 
a  league  from  us,  at  the  head  of  6,000  men,  on  his 
march  to  Wilno.  It  is,  we  believe,  a  thing  un- 
heard of  in  the  history  of  military  affairs,  that  an 
inferior  force  should  be  suffered  to  pass,  unmolest- 
ed, so  near  a  hostile  army.  It  discovered  the  very 
last  degree  of  carelessness,  to  enter  a  country  in 
the  occupation  of  the  enemy,  without  sending  out 
even  the  ordinary  reconnoissances.  General  Mali- 
nowski,* with  his  corps,  which  ought  to  have  fallen 

*  This  general  Malinowski,  as  was  generally  understood, 
was  a  native  of  Mohilew,  or  Little  Russia,  a  province  of 
ancient  Poland,  and  had  been  long  in  the  Russian  service. 
The  Lithuanians  and  Samogitians  had  much  reason  to  com- 
plain of  his  conduct  in  those  provinces. 


w  (:  ( Vr  or 

/  I  IT  or;  m'i 


V  I  I',  V 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  329 

into  our  hands,  escaped,  and  made  the  second  Rus- 
sian force  which  had  owed  its  safety  to  our  negli- 
gence, and  contributed  a  new  accession  to  the 
forces  which  we  should  have  to  contend  with. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  the  corps  arrived  at  Keyda- 
ny  (2),  in  which  place  it  was  joined  by  general 
Chlapowski  with  his  corps,  which  had  so  success- 
fully traversed  the  departments  of  Bialystok  and 
Grodno. 

This  force,  which,  on  quitting  Xienzopol,  amount- 
ed to  scarce  1,000  men,  received  reinforcements  of 
cavalry  and  infantry,  from  the  insurgents  of  the 
provinces,  through  which  it  had  passed.*  From 
the  new  forces,  ten  squadrons  of  cavalry,  counting 
nearly  1,200  horse,  and  two  battalions  of  infantry, 
amounting  to  nearly  1,800  men,  were  formed. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  the  united  corps  quitted 
Keydany,  to  march  to  Zey my    (3),  were  we  ar- 

*  Among  the  Lithuanians  who  hastened  to  join  our  ranks, 
and  aid  in  the  restoration  of  their  beloved  country,  were 
several  of  the  fair  sex,  —  generally  from  the  principal  fami- 
lies of  the  province.  There  were  personally  known  to  me 
the  following,  whose  names  I  deem  it  an  honor  to  record ; 
—  Plater,  Rasinowicz,  Karwoska,  Matusiewicz,  Zawadzka, 
and  Lipinska.  The  countess  Plater,  perhaps,  should  re- 
ceive a  more  especial  notice.  This  young  heroine  joined 
our  corps  with  a  regiment  of  from  five  to  six  hundred  Lithu- 
anians, raised  and  equipped  at  her  own  expense,  and  she 
was  uniformly  at  their  head  in  the  midst  of  the  severest  en- 
gagements. How  strongly  do  such  examples  prove  the 
sacred  nature  of  our  cause  !  What  claims  must  not  their 
country  have  presented  to  the  minds  of  these  females  of 
the  most  exalted  character,  to  have  induced  them  thus  to  go 
out  of  their  natural  position  in  society,  and  to  sacrifice 
domestic  happiness,  wealth,  life  itself,  in  the  efibrt  to  rescue 
that  country  from  her  degradation  ! 


330  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

rived  at  night.  In  this  little  town  w^e  remained 
several  days,  we  know  not  for  what  object.  From 
this  place  general  Chlapowski  was  sent  with  a  de- 
tachment, consisting  of  the  1st  regiment  of  lancers 
and  five  pieces  of  light  artillery,  to  make  reconnois- 
sances  in  the  direction  of  Wilno.  The  new  forces 
of  which  we  have  just  spoken,  were  attached  to 
the  main  body,  under  general  Gielgud.  A  few 
hundred  of  insurgent  cavalry  of  Lithuania  also  ar- 
rived at  Zeymy,  which  were  joined  to  the  lancers 
of  Poznan  and  the  3d  regiment  of  lancers. 

On  the  day  of  our  departure,  general  Szyma- 
nowski  received  orders  to  leave  for  Polonga  with  a 
small  corps  of  insurgents  (c)  from  the  department 
of  Szawla.  This  corps  consisted  of  1 ,500  infantry, 
400  light  cavalry,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon. 

As  it  was  from  Zeymy  that  we  commenced  our 
operations  upon  Wilno,  after  having  organized  the 
new  forces  ;  and  as  from  this  point  begins  an  era 
in  the  history  of  the  expedition,  it  may  be  well  to 
give  a  new  enumeration  of  our  forces.  Our  infan- 
try consisted  of  13  battalions  of  infantry,  amount- 
ing in  all  to  nearly  8,700  men,  including  a  body  of 
sappers  ;  our  cavalry  of  24  squadrons,  amounting 
to  about  2,750  ;  and  our  artillery  of  29  pieces  of 
cannon.  To  these  forces  we  might  add  a  detach- 
ment of  500  men  and  100  horse,  acting  independ- 
ently as  a  corps  of  partizans,  under  colonel  Za- 
liwski.  This  corps  of  colonel  Zaliwski  was  form- 
ed in  the  duchy  of  Augustow,  with  the  destination 
to  operate  there  upon  all  the  demonstrations  of  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  331 

enemy,  on  his  communications,  his  magazines,  his 
baggage,  his  transportations  of  provisions,  &:c ; 
and  when  it  is  considered  that  this  officer  remained 
for  fom-  months  thus  successfully  employed,  and 
exposed  to  the  enemy's  forces  on  all  sides,  a  par-, 
ticular  acknowledgment  is  due  to  him  for  his  me- 
ritorious services.  In  the  above  enumeration  we 
have,  of  course,  excluded  the  force  of  general  Szy- 
manowski,  which,  as  we  have  stated,  received  an- 
other destination. 

With  the  forces  which  we  have  enumerated, 
general  Gielgud  left  Zeymy  on  the  14th  of  June. 
The  operations  on  Wilno  were  planned  for  an  at- 
tack on  two  sides,  and  with  that  view  general 
Dembinski  .was  detached  with  a  small  corps  (d)  of 
1,200  infantry,  900  cavalry,  and  4  pieces  of  cannon. 
This  general  was  to  attack  Wilno  on  the  road  from 
Wilkomierz  to  that  city,  at  the  same  time  that  the 
larger  force  (e)  made  the  attack  on  the  road  from 
Kowno,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Wiliia.  This 
plan  demanded  the  most  exact  communication  be- 
tween the  two  attacking  corps.  That  communica- 
tion was  not  observed,  and,  in  fact,  as  it  will  be 
seen,  the  plan  itself  was  not  executed. 

The  corps  of  general  Dembinski  reached  Wieprz 
(4),  on  the  river  Swieta,  on  the  14th  of  June.  On 
the  next  day  it  passed  that  river,  and  arrived  at 
Szerwinty  (5).  From  thence,  after  resting  for  a 
few  hours,  the  corps  marched  to  Myszogola  (6), 
where  it  passed  the  night.  On  the  16th,  leaving 
this  village,  after  a  march  of  two  leagues,  the  corps 


332  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

began  to  meet  with  small  detachments  of  the  ene- 
my's Circassian  cavalry.^  General  Dembinski  gave 
the  order  to  throw  forward  the  flankers.  The  Cir- 
cassians commenced  a  retreating  fire,  and,  thus 
engaged  with  them,  we  approached  within  a  league 
of  Wilno,  taking  a  position  at  Karczma-biskupia 
(7),  or  The  Tavern  of  the  Bishop,  a  large  public 
house,  surrounded  by  small  dwellings,  and  which 
was  in  rather  a  commanding  situation. 

On  the  17th,  general  Dembinski  sent  parties  of 
cavalry  to  the  right  as  far  as  the  river  Wiliia  (W), 
and  to  the  left  as  far  as  Kalwaria  (8),  to  make  re- 
connoissances,  and  advanced  with  the  body  of  the 
corps  in  the  centre,  for  the  same  object.  In  these 
reconnoissances  a  constant  fire  of  flankers  was  kept 
up,  with  which  the  whole  day  was  occupied.  It 
was  a  great  fault  in  general  Dembinski,  to  have 
commenced  this  fire,  without  having  any  intelli- 
gence of  the  situation  of  the  corps  of  general  Giel- 
gud,  with  which  he  was  to  act  in  concert.  On  the 
morning  of  the  same  day,  in  fact,  on  which  general 
Dembinski  was  thus  employed,  the  corps  of  gen- 
eral Gielgud  was  at  the  distance  of  thirty-six  Eng- 
lish miles  from  him.     By  these  imprudent  recon- 

*  This  was  a  formidable  force  [from  the  province  of  Cir- 
cassia,  consisting  of  two  regiments,  amounting  to  about  3,000 
men,  which  had  recently  arrived  at  Wilno.  It  was  a  species 
of  light  cavalry,  of  the  most  efficient  character.  The  fleet- 
ness  of  their  horses  was  such,  that  they  would  often  throw 
themselves  in  the  very  midst  of  our  flankers,  and  having 
discharged  their  arms,  retreat  in  safety.  They  were  armed 
with  two  pistols,  a  long  fusil,  a  sabre,  a  long  knife,  and  a 
lance. 


m^: 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  3SS 

noissances,  general  Dembinski  laid  open  all  his 
forces  to  the  knowledge  of  the  enemy.  Of  this 
fault  the  enemy  took  advantage  on  the  next  day. 

On  the   18th,   at  sunrise,  clouds  of  Circassian 
cavalry   made  their   appearance,  and   commenced 
attacks  upon  our  flanks,  endeavoring  to  turn  them. 
Several  columns  of  Russian  infantry  then  approach- 
ed, and  manoeuvred  upon  our  centre,   on  which 
also  12  pieces  of  Russian  artillery  of  large  calibre 
commenced  firing.     Other  columns  of  cavalry  ma- 
noeuvred upon  our  wings.     As  far  as  we    could 
judge,  the  enemy's  forces  amounted  to  about  8,000 
men.     General   Dembinski,  seeing  the  strength  of 
the  enemy,  and  appreciating  his  own  danger,  gave 
orders  for  a  retreat,  which  was  commenced  under 
a  terrible  fire  from  the  enemy's  artillery,  and  from 
his  flankers,  who  harassed  us  on  every  side.     The 
retreat  was  executed  in  the  greatest  order,  as  far 
as  Myszogola,  a  distance  of  12  miles  from  our  po- 
sition, with  the  loss  only  of  some  fifty  cavalry. 
On  arriving  at  Myszogola,  general  Dembinski,  con- 
cerned at  receiving  no  intelligence  from  general 
Gielgud,  sent  an  officer  with  a  report  of  what  had 
occurred.     That  officer  found  general  Gielgud  with 
his  corps,  at  Oyrany,  occupied  in  making  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Wiliia,  at  that  place.     The  report  of 
general  Dembinski,  as  we  can  assert  from  personal 
knowledge,  gave  a  faithful  description  of  the  occur- 
rences of  the  preceding  days,  and  contained  a  re- 
quest, that,  in  case  he  (Dembinski)  was  expected 
to  maintain  the  position  in  which  he  then  was, 
42 


#■ 


334  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

general  Gielgud  must  send  him  reinforcements  of 
infantry  and  artillery.  The  report  finished  with 
the  suggestion,  that  it  would  be,  under  all  circum- 
stances, the  course  most  expedient,  to  re-unite  his 
forces  with  those  of  general  Gielgud.  Upon  the 
receipt  of  this  report,  to  which  general  Gielgud 
gave  little  attention,  orders  were  sent  to  general 
Dembinski  to  depart  for  Podbrzeze  (9),  eight  miles 
to  the  left  of  the  road  which  leads  from  Wilkom- 
ierz  to  Wilno.  The  pretext  of  this  order  was  to 
attack  Wilno  on  the  side  of  Kalwaryi,  and  to  pass 
the  river  Wiliia  at  that  point.  Thus,  instead  of 
being  allowed  to  unite  his  corps  with  that  of  gen- 
eral Gielgud,  as  he  had  proposed,  general  Dem- 
binski was  ordered  to  remove  to  a  still  greater  dis- 
tance, a  disposition  for  which  we  can  conceive  no 
possible  motive.  On  the  1 9th  of  June,  the  day  on 
which  general  Gielgud  commenced  his  attack  on 
Wilno,  general  Dembinski  was  thus  employed  on 
his  march,  without  an  object,  to  Podbrzeze. 


BATTLE   OF  WILNO.     [Plan   XXXV.] 

The  battle  of  Wilno  was,  in  point  of  tactics, 
simply  a  strong  attack  upon  the  Russian  centre 
(A),  with  the  view,  by  forcing  it,  to  pass  on  to 
the  occupation  of  the  city.  The  adoption  of  such 
a  plan  supposes  an  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the 
position  of  the  enemy,  and  of  the  strength  of  his 


X^^77 


■i*ir 


0  ^^^ 


THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION.  335 

forces.*  Indeed  any  plan  of  attacking  this  city 
on  its  strongest  side,  that  toward  Kowno,  was  al- 
most impossible  of  execution. 

The  battle  commenced  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th  of  June.  The  enemy  was  dislodged  from  his 
first  position,  which  was  about  one  mile  from  the 
city.  Their  retreat  was  caused  by  a  spirited  charge, 
by  the  1st  regiment  of  lancers,  upon  the  Russian 
artillery,  and  the  columns  of  infantry  in  the  centre. 
The  enemy,  on  quitting  this  position,  took  another 
of  great  strength  on  the  heights  called  Gory-Kon- 
arskie  (B).  This  strong  position  was  already  cov- 
ered with  fortifications.  The  right  wing  of  the 
enemy  (C),  composed  of  strong  columns  of  infan- 
try (a),  rested  on  the  river  Wiliia ;  the  centre,  (A), 
embracing  all  their  artillery,  which  consisted  of 
50  pieces  of  cannon  (6),  occupied  the  heights 
above  mentioned ;  the  declivity  of  those  heights 
was  covered  with  sharp-shooters  (^),  concealed 
behind  small  heaps  of  earth,  thrown  up  for  this 
purpose.  The  left  wing  of  the  enemy  (D)  was 
entirely  composed  of  cavalry  (e). 

After  driving  the  Russians  from  their  first  posi- 
tion, our  artillery  (jf)  was  brought  forward  and 
placed  opposite  the  enemy's  centre.  This  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  great  fault.  At  the  same  time  that 
our  artillery  was  thus  disposed,  our  left  wing  re- 
ceived orders  to  attack  the  right  wing  of  the  ene- 

*  As  we  have  been  informed,  Wilno  was  defended  by  five 
corps,  consisting  in  all,  of  about  30,000  men,  under  generals 
Runita,  Tolstoy,  Sakeu,  Malinowski,  and  Szyrman. 


336  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

my.  The  columns  of  our  infantry  (g),  composed 
in  part  from  the  new  Lithuanian  levies,*  threvv^ 
themselves  w^ith  such  fury  upon  the  enemy,  that 
they  did  not  give  them  *  even  time  to  fire,  but 
fought  them  hand  to  hand  :  an  immense  slaughter 
ensued,  and  the  Russians  began  to  give  v^^ay  be- 
fore this  desperate  assault ;  but  at  this  very  mo- 
ment, our  artillery,  w^ho  could  not  sustain  them- 
selves under  the  overpow^ering  fire  of  the  enemy 
from  his  commanding  position,  began  to  fall  back  ; 
and  gave  time  to  the  Russians  to  send  fresh 
bodies  of  infantry  to  support  their  right  w^ing.  Our 
left  Vising,  being  unable  to  sustain  a  conflict  with 
the  reinforced  strength  of  the  enemy,  and  appre- 
hensive of  being  cut  off,  to  vs^hich  hazard  they 
vrere  exposed  by  the  retreat  of  our  artillery, 
began  to  give  w^ay  also,  and  upon  that  a  retreat 
commenced  along  our  whole  line,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  cavalry  (A).  The  cavalry,  both  old 
and  new,  performed  prodigies  of  valor,  in  execut- 
ing this  duty.  Single  squadrons  were  obliged  to 
make  charges  against  whole  regiments  of  the  ene- 
my, who  constantly  pressed  upon  us,  with  the  ob- 
ject of  throwing  our  forces  into  disorder.  All  the 
efforts  of  the  enemy  were  thwarted,  by  this  deter- 
mined bravery.  The  Russians  themselves  have 
borne  testimony  to  the  unparalleled  efforts  of  our 
cavalry    on    that  occasion.     Our   lancers    seemed 

*  This  Lithuanian  force  consisted  of  the  regiment  of  the 
countess  Plater,  who  accompanied  them  in  the  charge. 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  337 

to  feel  the  imminent  danger  of  permitting  the  Rus- 
sian cavalry  to  fall  upon  our  ranks,  and  they  fought 
w^ith  the  energy  of  desperation.  They  repelled 
the  attacks  of  a  cavalry  three  times  superior  in 
force,  and  which  vv^as  in  part  composed  of  regi- 
ments of  the  imperial  guard. 

The  enemy  having  been  thus  foiled  in  his  attacks, 
our  forces  repassed  in  safety  the  bridge  of  Oyrany, 
leaving  it  destroyed. 

The  battle  of  Wilno,  so  disastrous  to  us,  was 
our  greatest  fault  in  the  expedition  to  Lithuania  ; 
and  it  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  disasters.  The 
evil  consequences  of  this  battle  did  not  rest 
with  ourselves  ;  they  fell  heavily  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Wilno,  whose  hopes  of  acting  in  concert 
with  us  were  disappointed.  At  the  sound  of  our 
cannon,  a  revolt  of  the  inhabitants  was  commenced, 
and  after  the  repulse  of  our  forces,  arrests  and  im- 
prisonments of  course  followed.  This  unfortunate 
battle,  in  fine,  disorganized  all  the  plans  of  the 
main  army,  and  had  a  most  discouraging  effect 
upon  the  spirits  both  of  the  army  and  the  nation. 
An  attack  upon  Wilno,  at  a  time  when  all  the  ene- 
my's forces  were  concentrated  there,  should  only 
have  been  made  upon  the  basis  of  the  most  exten- 
sive and  carefully  adjusted  combinations.  A  suc- 
cessful attack  on  Wilno  would  have  been  a  difficult 
achievement,  even  by  a  force  equal  to  that  of  the 
enemy,  when  the  strong  positions  of  the  place  are 
considered.  What  then  shall  we  say  of  an  attack, 
with  a  force  amounting  to  but  one  third  of  that 


338  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

of  the  enemy,  and  made  also,  in  broad  day,  upon 
the  most  defensible  point  of  the  enemy's  position  ? 

But,  as  if  these  disadvantages  were  not  enough, 
general  Dembinski,  after  having  been  compromit- 
ted  at  Myszggola,  instead  of  being  enabled  to  aid 
in  this  attack,  was,  by  the  orders  of  general  Giel- 
gud,  at  the  very  moment  of  the  attack,  marching 
in  the  direction  of  Podbrzeze,  [(9)  Plan  XXXIV,] 
and  was  also  by  this  separation  exposed  even  to  be 
cut  off  by  the  enemy,  who  could  easily  have  done 
it,  by  sending  a  detachment  for  this  object  on  the 
road  from  Wilno  to  Wilkomierz. 

This  succession  of  inconceivable  faults  arrested 
the  attention  of  the  corps,  and  created  a  universal 
dissatisfaction.  .  The  removal  of  general  Gielgud, 
and  the  substitution  of  general  Chlapowski  in  the 
chief  command,  who  had  distinguished  himself 
so  much  in  the  departments  of  Bialystok  and 
Grodno,  was  loudly  called  for.  General  Chlapow- 
ski was  unwilling  to  take  the  chief  command,  but, 
to  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the  corps,  he  consented  to 
take  the  office  of  chef  d'etat  major,  a  post  in  which 
he  was  virtually  chief,  having  the  exclusive,  respon- 
sibility of  every  operation.  To  this  arrangement 
general  Gielgud  readily  consented.  It  took  effect 
on  the  evening  of  the  20th.  From  that  day  gen- 
eral Chlapowski  was  the  director  of  all  our  opera- 
tions. 

After  all  these  disasters,  which  had  both  moral- 
ly and  physically  weakened  us,  and  with  a  clear 
knowledge  of  the  amount  of  the  enemy's  strength, 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  339 

our  leaders  should  have  been  satisfied  that  it  must 
be  out  of  the  question  with  us  to  act  any  longer 
on  the  offensive,  and  that  our  whole  plan  of  opera- 
tions on  Samogitia  ought  to  be  abandoned.  We 
will  give  the  reader  an  exposition  of  the  views  of 
a  great  majority  of  the  officers  of  the  corps,  upon 
this  point,  formed  even  during  the  battle  of  Wilno. 
It  was  near  mid-day  on  the  19th,  and  when  our 
line  was  commencing  their  retreat,  that  colonel  Va- 
lentin, with  several  other  officers,  addressed  them- 
selves to  general  Gielgud,  represented  to  him  the 
disastrous  situation  in  which  we  were  placed,  and 
proposed  to  him  a  plan  of  operations  adapted  to 
our  new  ^r€umstances.  There  was,  in  their  opin- 
ion, but  one  course  to  pursue.  This  was,  to  aban- 
don our  whole  plan  of  operations  between  the 
rivers  Niemen,  Dwina,  and  Wiliia.  The  space 
enclosed  between  these  rivers,  the  Baltic  Sea  and 
the  Prussian  territory,  was  a  dangerous  position 
for  us,  a3  it  contracted  our  movements,  and  at  the 
same  time  exposed  us  to  being  surrounded  by  the 
superior  forces  of  the  enemy.  Colonel  Valentin 
designated,  as  the  most  eligible  line  of  operations, 
the  space  between  Kowno  and  Lida.  From  this 
oblique  line  we  could  at  any  moment  menace 
Wilno.  He  proposed  to  occupy  Kowno,  and  to 
fortify  that  town  as  well  as  Alexota  and  Lida  in 
the  very  strongest  manner.  On  this  line  we  should 
have  been  in  a  situation  to  profit  by  any  advanta- 
geous opportunities  which  the  negligence  of  the 
enemy  might  leave  to  us,  of  acting  upon  Wilno ; 


340  THK  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

and  if  we  might  not  be  fortunate  enough  to  sur- 
prise that  city,  we  should,  at  least,  compel  the 
Russians  to  keep  a  strong  force  within  its  walls, 
as  a  garrison.  The  town  of  Lida  touches  upon 
the  great  forest  of  Bialowiez.  It  is  situated  at 
the  meeting  of  three  great  roads,  viz.  those  from 
Poland,  from  Volhjnia,  and  from  the  province 
of  Black  Russia,  a  circumstance  in  its  position 
which  made  it  a  place  of  great  importance.  The 
communications  of  the  town  with  the  neighboring 
forest  were  extremely  easy,  and  this  forest  colonel 
Valentin  designed  a  place  of  concentration  for  all 
the  insurgent  forces  of  Lithuania  and  the  other 
provinces.  He  proposed  to  fortify,  in  tbe  strong- 
est manner,  all  the  roads  which  concentrated  here, 
and  thus  to  make  the  position  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous of  access  to  the  enemy.  This  forest, 
which  is  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  Eng- 
lish miles  in  length,  and  from  thirty  to  sixty  in 
breadth,  reaches  the  great  road  which  passes  by 
Bielsk,  from  Warsaw  to  St  Petersburgh  and  Mos- 
cow, and  extends  northwards  to  the  environs  of 
Wilno. 

By  means  of  prompt  operations,  according  as 
circumstances  might  direct,  our  forces  could  act 
upon  each  of  these  roads,  and  could  obstruct  all 
the  communications  of  the  enemy  with  St  Peters- 
burgh and  Moscow.  Colonel  Valentin,  in  propos- 
ing this  plan,  also  gave  much  weight  to  the  con- 
sideration that  our  main  army  under  general 
Skrzynecki,  was  victorious  in  the  vicinity  of  War- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  341 

saw,  and  that  general  Chrzanowski  was  with  a 
corps  in  the  environs  of  Zamosc,  having  been  vic- 
torious over  Rudiger,  and  on  the  point  of  'entering 
into  Volhynia ;  with  this  latter  corps,  a  junction 
could  easily  be  effected,  and  the  two  corps  oould 
act  in  concert,  for  the  support  of  the  insurrections 
which  might  occur  in  all  the  provinces  between 
the  Dnieper  and  the  Black  Sea ;  and  even  if  all 
these  great  advantages,  which  we  should  have 
been  justified  in  counting  upon,  had  not  been  at- 
tained, we  should,  at  least,  have  compelled  the 
enemy  to  retain  a  great  body  of  forces  in  Lithu- 
ania, and  thus  have  hindered  him  from  reinforcing 
his  main  army.* 

*  This  valuable  officer,  colonel  Valentin,  unfortunately 
lost  his  life  on  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Wilno,  while  bath- 
ing in  the  "Wiliia.  The  regrets  of  his  brother  officers  were 
aggravated  by  their  sense  of  the  value  of  those  wise  coun- 
sels, the  suggestion  of  which  was  the  last  act  of  his  life. 
He  had  every  quality  of  heart  and  intellect  for  the  highest 
military  station. 


43 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Operations  of  the  main  army. — Expedition  under  Jankowski. — General 
Chrijanowski  having  driven  Rudiger  from  his  position,  crosses  the 
Vistula,  but  returns  to  act  in  concert  with  general  Jankowski  against 
the  enemy  near  Kock. — Details  of  general  Jankowski's  movement. — 
He  remains  inactive  within  sight  of  the  fire  of  the  corps  with  which 
he  was  to  co-operate. — Other  evidences  of  treason. — Generals  Jan- 
kowski and  Bukowski  are  arrested  and  ordered  for  trial. — View  of 
the  advantages  that  were  sacrificed  by  this  misconduct. — Discovery 
of  a  plot  to  liberate  and  arm  the  Russian  prisoners  at  Warsaw,  and  to 
deliver  the  city  to  the  enemy. — State  of  the  public  mind  induced  by 
these  events. 

From  these  melancholy  occurrences  in  Lithuania, 
let  us  turn  to  follow  the ,  operations  of  the  grand 
army. 

On  the  13th  and  14th  of  June,  a  division  of  in- 
fantry, under  the  command  of  general  Muhlberg, 
left  Praga,  and  took  the  direction  of  the  environs 
of  Stanislawow  and  Jadow.  In  the  latter  place 
this  division  surprised  a  strong  detachment  of  the 
enemy  in  camp,  and  took  many  prisoners.  Thence 
they  were  instructed  to  follow  the  left  bank  of  the 
Liwiec  as  far  as  the  environs  of  Kaluszyn,  and 
even  to  Zelechow,  clearing  each  bank  of  the 
presence  of  the  enemy*  This  division  was  then  to 
join  itself  with  the  division  of  cavalry  of  general 
Jankowski,  which  on  that  day  left  for  Kock. 
Those  two  divisions  combined,  were  to  endeavor 
to  act  upon  the  different  corps  of  the  enemy  which 
were  pressed  by  the  corps  of  general  Chrzanowski. 

The  latter  general  had  commenced  the  offensive 
on  the  16th,  and  had  driven  the  corps  of  general 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  343 

Rudiger  from  its  position  at  Krasnjstaw,  and  com- 
pelled it  to  retreat  to  Lublin,  continually  pur- 
sued by  him.  On  the  23d,  he  took  that  town  by 
storm.  The  enemy  was  obliged  to  evacuate  it  in. 
disorder,  leaving  a  great  number  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners,  and  to  take  the  direction  of  Kock. 
The  corps  of  Rudiger  would  have  been  inevitably 
destroyed,  if  another  Russian  corps  of  15,000  strong 
had  not  marched  to  its  aid. 

General  Chrzanowski,  apprized  of  the  arrival  of 
this  reinforcement,  quitted  the  pursuit,  for  a  more 
favorable  moment ;  and,  to  avoid  an  engagement 
with  this  combined  force  of  the  enemy,  as  well  as 
to  escort  the  prisoners,  which  he  had  taken  at 
Lublin,  to  a  place  of  safety,  he  repassed  the  Vis- 
tula, at  Pulawy.  He  had  scarce  reached  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  river,  when  he  received  the  in- 
telligence that  the  division  of  general  Jankowski, 
reinforced  by  a  brigade  of  infantry,  was  approach- 
ing Kock,  where  was  already  the  corps  of  general 
Rudiger,  and  whither  the  corps  of  general  Keisa- 
row,  above  mentioned,  was  hastening  to  join  him. 
In  order,  therefore,  to  take  between  the  two  fires 
all  the  forces  which  might  be  collected  at  Kock, 
general  Chrzanowski  promptly  repassed  the  river, 
reached  the  environs  of  Kock,  and  waited  impa- 
tiently for  the  attack  of  general  Jankowski,  in  the 
opposite  direction ;  but  Jankowski  delayed  his 
movement,  and  allowed  the  corps  of  Kiesarow  to 
join  Rudiger. 

The  following  are  the  details  of  this  expedition, 


344  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

as  thej  were  related  by  an  officer  of  the  division 
of  Muhlberg,  and  vrhich  exhibit  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  treason  on  the  part  of  general  Jankowski. 

'  The  issue  of  this  expedition,  vs^hich  could  have 
had  the  most  brilliant  results,  has  filled  us  v^ith 
grief  and  indignation.  We  were  marching  in  the 
utmost  haste  upon  Kock,  with  the  hope  of  beating 
Rudiger.  On  our  route,  at  Stoczek,  for  our  mis- 
fortune, we  were  joined  by  the  division  of  cavalry 
under  general  Jankowski,  who  then  took  the  com- 
mand. We  ought  to  have  passed  the  Wieprz,  to 
meet  Rudiger,  and  cut  him  off.  Suddenly  news 
was  brought  to  us  that  the  enemy  had  passed  the 
Wieprz,  at  Lysobyki,  with  6,000  infantry,  sixteen 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  ten  pieces  of  cannon. 
General  Jankowski  then  called  a  council  of  war, 
at  which  the  following  plans  were  adopted.  Gen- 
eral Turno  was  to  attack  the  enemy,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Sorokomla,  and  general  Jankowski  was  to 
come  to  his  support  at  the  first  sound  of  his  can- 
non. The  brigade  of  general  Romarino  (detached 
from  the  corps  of  general  Chrzanowski,  and  destin- 
ed to  act  as  an  independent  corps)  was  to  act  upon 
the  left  wing,  and  general  Bukowski,  with  a  brig- 
ade of  cavalry,  upon  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy 
by  Bialobrzegi.  This  plan,  which  in  the  convic- 
tion of  all  our  officers  would  have  exterminated  the 
corps  of  general  Rudiger,  and  the  execution  of 
which  was  reserved  to  general  Jankowski,  came  to 
nothing. 

*  General  Turno,  trusting  in  the  faithful  execu- 


T-  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  345 

tion  of  the  plan,  attacked  the  enemy  with  courage 
and  vigor^  He  was  sure  of  receiving  support  on 
three  sides.  He  made  head  against  the  enemy  for 
six  hours,  while  generals  Jankowski  and  Bukow- 
ski,  at  the  distance  of  about  three  miles  from  him, 
hearing  and  even  seeing  the  fire  of  the  action,  re- 
mained in  a  state  of  complete  inaction.  Nay  more, 
a  Russian  detachment  took  possession,  almost  be- 
fore their  eyes,  of  the  ammunition  and  baggage  of 
a  whole  regiment,  and  they  did  not  stir  to  prevent 
it.  General  Turno  fought  with  bravery  and  sang- 
froid, notwithstanding  that  none  came  to  his  sup- 
port, and  did  not  retire  till  he  received  orders  to 
do  so.  The  whole  corps  was  indignant  at  the 
conduct  of  Jankowski,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Bukowski,  who  had  evidently  acted  the  part  of 
traitors.' 

General  Skrzynecki  was  deeply  afflicted  with 
the  sad  result  of  an  expedition,  which,  based  upon 
infallible  calculations,  had  promised  the  very  surest 
success.  The  event  was  of  the  most  disastrous 
consequence  to  us.  If  the  corps  of  general  Rudiger 
had  been  crushed,  as  it  certainly  could  have  been, 
the  combined  corps  of  Chrzanowski,  Muhlberg, 
and  Jankowski,  could  have  acted  upon  all  the  corps 
of  the  enemy,  which  might  be  found  between  the 
Wieprz,  the  Swider,  and  the  Liwiec.  As  those 
corps  were  quite  distant  from  their  main  army, 
which  was  now  upon  the  right  of  the  Narew,  and 
as  they  were  even  without  a  free  communication 
with  each  other,  they  could  have  each  been  beaten 


346  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

in  detail,  by  a  prompt  action  on  our  part.     I  leave 
to  the  reader  to  decide,  whether,  after  we  should 
have  obtained  such  successes  over  these  detached 
corps,  we  could  not  have  acted  with  certain  sue-  . 
cess  against  the  Russian  main  army. 

The  corps  of  general  Rudiger,  which  thus  es- 
caped, its  fate,  left  for  the  environs  of  Lukow, 
whither  it  was  followed  by  general  Chrzanowski. 
The  corps  of  general  Jankowski  returned  in  the 
direction  of  Macieiowiec  and  Laskarzew,  and  the 
division  of  general  Muhlberg  returned  to  Minsk. 
The  general  in  chief  deprived  generals  Jankowski 
and  Bukowski  of  their  command,  and  ordered  them 
to  be  tried  by  a  court-martial. 

But  other  and  even  more  affecting  disasters  were 
awaiting  us.  Poland,  which  had  been  so  often 
made  a  sacrifice  of,  through  her  own  generosity 
and  confidence,  now  nourished  upon  her  bosom  the 
monsters  who  were  plotting  her  destruction. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  general  Skrzynecki  re- 
ceived information  of  a  conspiracy  which  had  for 
its  object  the  delivering  up  of  Warsaw  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  by  liberating  and  arming  the 
Russian  prisoners.  Several  generals,  of  whom  dis- 
trust had  been  felt,  and  who  had  been  deprived  of 
their  commands  when  the  revolution  broke  out, 
having  been  known  as  the  vile  instruments  of  the 
former  government,  were  at  the  bottom  of  this  plot. 
Of  this  painful  intelligence,  general  Skrzynecki 
immediately  apprized  the  National  Government, 
who,  relying  on  his  report,  caused  to  be  arrested 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  347 

general  Hurtig,  former  commander  of  the  fortress 
of  Zamosc,  and  a  base  instrument  of  Constantine, 
general  Salacki,  colonel  Slupecki,  the  Russian 
chamberlain  Fenshawe,  a  Mr  Lessel,  and  a  Rus- 
sian lady,  named  Bazanow.  Generals  Jankowski 
and  Bukowski  were  also  implicated  in  the  con- 
spiracy. This  band  of  traitors  intended  to  get  pos- 
session of  the  arsenal,  to  arm  the  Russian  prison- 
ers, and  to  destroy  the  bridges  ;  (in  order  to  cut 
off  all  communication  with  the  army,  which  was 
then  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Vistula  ;)  and  the 
Russian  army,  advertised  of  this  movement,  was 
then  to  pass  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula,  at 
Plock  or  Dobzyn,  and  take  possession  of  Warsaw. 
Those  traitors  succeeded  in  setting  at  large  a  great 
number  of  Russian  prisoners  at  Czenstochowa. 

What  a  terror  must  poor  Poland  have  been  to 
the  Russian  cabinet,  which  did  not  find  it  enough 
to  have  deluged  her  with  their  immense  forces, 
and  to  have  engaged  all  the  neighboring  cabinets 
to  aid  them  against  her,  but  must  go  farther,  and, 
by  the  employment  of  such  vile  means,  attempt  to 
kindle  hostilities  in  her  interior,  and  to  subject  her 
at  the  same  time  to  a  civil  and  an  external  war  ! 
They  had  good  cause  for  these  desperate  attempts. 
From  the  earliest  stage  of  the  conflict,  they  had  seen 
that  the  Poles,  nerved  by  the  consciousness  of  the 
justice  of  their  cause,  were  capable  of  crushing  the 
force  which  they  had  sent  to  execute  the  will  of 
the  despot.  Unable  to  meet  us  in  the  open  field, 
they  must  invent  some  new  method,  no  matter  how 


348  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

base,  to  accomplish  their  end.  It  was  through  the 
instrumentality  of  their  intrigues  that  the  dictator- 
ship was  prolonged.  It  was  by  such  intrigues,  thai 
the  apple  of  discord  was  thrown  into  our  national 
congress,  and  even  into  the  ranks  of  that  handful  of 
brave  men  who  had  sworn  to  sacrifice  themselves 
in  the  cause  of  their  country.  They  employed 
their  vile  accomplices  to  betray  us,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded. 

The  discovery  of  this  extensive  treason  struck 
the  people  with  consternation  and  dismay.  It 
drove  them  to  a  state  bordering  on  desperation. 
When  Poland  had  sent  and  was  sending  her  sons, 
and  even  her  daughters,  to  the  field  of  death ;  — 
when  she  was  sacrificing  every  thing  to  achieve 
her  deliverance,  and  was  awaiting  the  fruits  of  such 
sacrifices,  sure,  if  not  to  conquer,  at  least  to  fall 
with  honor,  —  she  sees  that  all  is  in  vain— that  her 
holy  purposes  are  mocked  at,  and  that  all  her  no- 
ble efibrts  are  thwarted !  C  an  we  be  surprised, 
then,  at  the  state  of  the  popular  mind  which  en- 
sued ? 

The  state  of  feeling  which  these  events  caused 
was  aggravated  by  the  reflection,  that  the  surveil- 
lance of  certain  individuals,  of  whom  distrust  had 
been  already  entertained,  had  been  more  than  once 
demanded ;  and  that  from  an  early  period  it  was 
urged  upon  the  government,  that  the  Russian  pris- 
oners, particularly  those  of  distinction,  should  be 
carefully  watched,  and  prevented  from  holding  free 
communication  together,  or  with  others.     So  far, 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  349 

however,  from  such  care  having  been  taken,  the 
very  Jev^s  were  permitted  to  communicate  with 
them  constantly,  and  to  bring  them  intelligence  of 
the  events  of  the  war.  Can  it  be  wondered  then, 
that  the  neglect  of  these  repeated  warnings,  and 
the  tremendous  consequences  which  had  well  nigh 
followed  this  neglect,  should  have  weighed  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  have  even  brought  the 
National  Government  itself  into  suspicion  ?  It 
was,  in  fact,  from  this  moment,  that  the  nation  be- 
gan first  to  look  with  dissatisfaction  and  distrust 
upon  that  government,  upon  prince  Czartoriski  its 
head,  and  even  upon  the  general  in  chief  himself. 
The  melancholy  news  of  the  treason  of  Jankowski 
filled  the  minds  of  the  patriots  with  bitter  anticipa- 
tions ;  they  naturally  foreboded,  that  if  such  trea- 
sons could  be  perpetrated  in  the  grand  army,  under 
the  very  eyes  of  the  general  in  chief,  the  danger 
might  be  still  greater  in  the  more  distant  corps. 
Their  forebodings  were  but  too  well  justified  by 
the  events  which  took  place  in  Lithuania,  the  intel- 
ligence of  which  was  soon  received  at  Warsaw. 


44 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

General  Chlapowski  arrives  at  Keydany,  having  ordered  general  Dem- 
binski  to  Wilkomierz. — The  position  of  the  two  forces  and  their  line 
of  operations. — Examination  of  these  arrangements. — Neglect  of  the 
important  position  of  Kowno. — General  Chlapowski,  at  Keydany, 
proposes  to  form  a  provisional  government,  and  obtain  a  levy  of 
troops. — Dispositions  of  the  Lithuanians,  as  effected  by  the  misman- 
agement of  our  leaders. — Advantages  offered  to  the  enemy  by  the  de- 
lay at  Keydany. — Brave  defence  of  Kowno,  by  the  small  force  left 
there. — Skirmish  at  Wilkomierz. — The  opportunity  of  concentrating 
all  the  forces  at  Keydany,  and  repassing  the  Niemen,  is  neglected. — 
The  eneniy  presses  his  pursuit. — Battle  of  Rosseyny. — Attack  on 
Szawla. — Loss  of  the  ammunition  and  baggage  of  the  corps. — The 
corps  retreats  in  order  to  Kurzany,  protected  by  a  rear  guard  of  cavalry 
and  light  artillery. — At  Kurzany  the  corps  is  subdivided  into  three 
parts. — Destination  and  strength  of  eacti. — Examination  of  this  plan. 

General  Chlapowski,  whom  we  shall  here- 
after name  as  having  the  chief  command  of  the  Li- 
thuanian force,  arrived  on  the  night  of  the  22d  of 
June  at  Keydany,  having  sent  orders  to  general 
Dembinski  to  withdraw  with  his  corps,  and  to 
march  to  Wilkomierz.  (10)  [P to  XXXIV.]  The 
corps  of  general  Dembinski  arrived,  on  the  21st, 
at  Szerwinty,  and  on  the  22d,  at  Wilkomierz.  On 
quitting  Podbrzeze,  general  Dembinski  left  a  small 
detachment  in  the  environs  of  Myszogola,  to  act  as 
partizans. 

The  position  of  our  corps  was  then  as  follows ;  — 
The  larger  force  was  at  Keydany  (2).  The  corps 
of  Dembinski  was  at  Wilkomierz,  and  a  small 
corps  (c)  under  the  command  of  general  Szyma- 
nowski  was  in  the  environs  of  Szawla.  Our  line 
of  operations  was  on  the  river  Swienta  (S)  and 
along  the  Wiliia  (W),  for  a  short  distance  below 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  351 

the  junction  of  the  former  river  with  it.  To  de- 
fend the  passage  of  those  rivers  against  the  enemy, 
the  following  detachments  were  designated.  Kow- 
no  (11)  was  occupied  by  two  battalions  of  Lithu- 
anian infantry,  recently  levied,  under  the  command 
of  colonel  Kikiernicki,  and  a  squadron  of  the  11th 
regiment  of  lancers,  also  Lithuanian,  and  recently 
formed. 

At  Janow  (12)  was  a  battalion  of  infantry  and  a 
squadron  of  the  11th  lancers,  under  the  command 
of  colonel  Piwecki.  At  Wieprz  were  three  squad- 
rons of  the  10th  lancers. 

This  separation  of  our  forces  in  Lithuania,  and, 
above  all,  this  designation  of  the  most  recently  or- 
ganized troops  for  the  defence  of  the  passage  of 
the  two  rivers,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  great 
strength  of  the  enemy,  was  a  gross  error.  To 
leave  the  defence  of  Kowno,  a  place  of  so  much 
importance,  to  three  battalions  of  infantry  and  a 
squadron  of  cavalry,  all  of  them  newly  formed 
troops,  and  that,  too,  without  ammunition,  (for 
they  had  barely  three  rounds  each,)  was  a  course 
perfectly  inexplicable.  Besides  all  this,  the  river 
Swienta  was  so  shallow  as  to  be  fordable  by  both 
infantry  and  cavalry,  and  in  some  places  even  by 
artillery.  Why  then  was  that  river  defended  ?  It 
was  owing,  in  fact,  to  good  fortune  that  all  these 
detachments  were  not  cut  off. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  two  corps  at  Keydany  and 
Wilkomierz,  the  organization  of  a  provisional  gov- 
ernment for  the  province,  was  commenced.     Diets 


352  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

were  convoked  at  these  two  places,  to  organize  an 
administration,  and  to  procure  levies  of  forces. 
Although  these  arrangements  were  all  proper  in 
themselves,  jet  it  was  a  late  hour  to  undertake 
them,  and  no  place  could  have  been  so  well  adapt- 
ed for  them  as  Wilno.  Had  the  corps  of  Saken 
been  pursued  and  broken  up,  Wilno  would  have 
been  ours  ;  and  all  such  arrangements  could  have 
been  made  there  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances. In  that  event,  the  brave  Lithuanians 
would  have  come  in  from  all  sides  and  crowded 
our  ranks,  without  waiting  for  any  appeal  to  be 
made  to  them.  But  at  present,  a  new  crisis  had 
arrived.  We  had  fought  the  battle  of  Wilno  with 
a  disastrous  result.  The  enemy  had  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  inferiority  of  our  forces,  and  had 
begun  to  understand  the  errors  of  our  commander, 
and  was  prepared  to  take  advantage  of  them.  In 
fine,  the  Lithuanians  themselves,  witnessing  all 
this  gross  mismanagement,  became  disgusted,  and 
after  having  once  so  cheerfully  tendered  their  co- 
operation, began,  at  length,  to  discover  that  they 
were  sacrificing  themselves  in  vain,  and  that  the 
fate  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wilno  would  await  them. 
This  people,  as  we  have  already  stated,  had  com- 
menced their  insurrection  two  months  before  they 
had  hopes  of  any  assistance  from  our  forces,  and 
badly  armed  as  they  were,  they  had  maintained  a 
partizan  warfare  during  this  period  with  uniform 
success.  We  can,  therefore,  have  no  reason  to 
reproach  them,  if  after  the  misconduct  which  was 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  353 

exhibited  before  their  eyes,  they  began  to  be  re- 
luctant to  join  their  forces  to  our  own,  and  chose 
to  reserve  the  sacrifice  of  their  exertions  and  their 
lives  for  some  other  occasion,  w^hen  there  might  be 
some  hope  of  useful  results. 

The  six  or  seven  days  which  we  passed  thus  at 
Keydany  and  Wilkomierz,  seemed  as  if  designed 
to  invite  the  enemy  to  pursue  his  advantages,  and 
to  lead  him  to  the  idea  of  surrounding  our  forces. 
The  enemy,  fortunately  for  us,  did  not  improve  the 
opportunity  which  we  presented  him,  but  remained 
inactive.  This  inactivity,  whether  it  arose  from 
the  imbecility  of  his  commanders,  or  whatever 
other  cause,  afforded  us  an  opportunity  of  changing 
our  plans,  and  of  extricating  ourselves  from  the 
dangerous  position  in  which  we  were  placed.  But 
instead  of  this,  we  awaited  his  attack.  On  the 
29th,  the  enemy  commenced  an  attack  upon  every 
point,  at  Wilkomierz,  Wieprz,  Janow,  and  Kow- 
no,  with  his  whole  force. 

A  corps  of  4,000  Russians,  with  16  cannon, 
commenced  the  attack  on  Kowno,  defended,  as  we 
have  said,  by  2,000  new  troops.  From  morning 
until  night,  the  defence  was  sustained  with  great 
courage.  The  contest  was  for  the  first  half  of  the 
day  in  the  town  itself,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  was 
spent  in  disputing  the  passage  of  the  bridge  over 
the  Wiliia.  The  Russians  occupying  all  the  houses 
upon  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  the  neighboring 
heights,  commenced  a  terrible  fire  of  artillery  and 
musquetry  upon  the  bridge,  which  was  defended  by 


354  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.     ' 

a  body  of  infantrj,  almost  without  ammunition. 
At  night -fall,  colonel  Kikiernicki,  seeing  that  the 
Russian  cavalry  had  found  means  of  fording  the 
river,  ordered  a  retreat,  but  remained  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  single  company,  defending  the  bridge, 
until  he  learnt  that  the  rest  of  the  corps  had  passed 
the  town  of  Sloboda,  and  had  gained  the  heights 
which  are  behind  the  town.  Upon  that  bridge, 
fell  the  captain  of  this  company,  Zabielloy  a  Lithu- 
anian. He  was  shot  in  the  act  of  cutting  away 
the  bridge  with  his  own  hands.  This  company, 
after  having  thus  sustained  their  post  at  the  bridge 
with  the  greatest  bravery,  commenced  their  retreat. 
The  Russian  cavalry,  having  succeeded  in  fording 
the  river,  had  already  commenced  acting  in  their 
rear.  At  the  same  time,  the  Russian  columns  of 
infantry  were  debouching  upon  the  bridge.  Colo- 
nel Kikiernicki,  perceiving  his  situation,  animated 
his  little  corps  to  make  the  desperate  effort  of 
breaking  through  the  Russian  cavalry,  and  of  gain- 
ing Sloboda.  His  spirit  was  seconded  by  his 
brave  followers,  and  this  company  of  one  hundred 
men,  raising  the  hurrah,  forced  a  passage  through 
the  enemy's  cavalry,  gained  Sloboda,  and,  under 
cover  of  night,  succeeded  in  joining  their  com- 
rades.* In  this  effort,  colonel  Kikiernicki  fell 
wounded,  and  was  made  prisoner  by  the  enemy. 

The  detachment,  having  lost  one  half  of  their 
numbers  in  the  sanguinary  attack   to  which  the 

*  With  this  company  was  the  countess  Plater,  and  her 
aid-de-camp  M'lle  Rasynowiecz. 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  355 

mismanagement  of  our  general  had  exposed  them, 
took  the  road  to  Janow.  In  this  manner  ended 
the  attack  on  Kowno,  and  the  Russians  took  pos- 
session of  that  important  post,  which  might  be  re- 
garded as  the  key  to  all  our  communications  with 
Poland. 

There  can  be  no  excuse  for  not  having  fortified 
Kowno.  It  is  a  town,  containing  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  inhabitants,  of  which  one  half,  perhaps, 
were  Jews,  but  they  could  have  been  employed  in 
the  construction  of  the  works.  It  was  also  most 
favorably  situated  for  defence,  being  surrounded  by 
heights  on  every  side. 

On  the  same  day,  sanguinary  skirmishes  took 
place  at  Janow,  Wieprz,  and  Wilkomierz.  The 
two  first  towns  were  abandoned.  In  the  attack  on 
Wilkomierz,  which  was  successfully  repelled,  an 
action  took  place,  in  which  the  lancers  of  Poznan 
and  Plock  threw  themselves  upon  the  flank  of  Rus- 
sian cavalry,  and,  after  causing  severe  loss,  took 
about  eighty  prisoners,  consisting  of  Circassians. 
General  Dembinski,  on  the  night  of  the  29th, 
learning  that  our  positions  of  Janow  and  Wieprz 
were  abandoned,  quitted  Wilkomierz  on  the  next 
day,  and  took  the  road  to  Szawla.  \_Plan  XXXIV, 
(13)].  Although  the  occupation,  by  the  enemy, 
of  the  town  of  Kowno,  and  the  interruption  of  our 
whole  line  of  operations  on  the  Swienta  and  Wil- 
iia,  made  our  situation  very  perilous ;  yet  it  was 
still  possible  to  avoid  the  disasters  which  followed, 


556  THE  POLISH    REVOLUTION. 

and  to  effect  a  return  to  Poland.  By  concentrat- 
ing all  our  forces  at  Kejdany,  we  could  have 
effected  a  passage  of  the  Niemen,  in  the  same 
manner  as  we  had  already  done  in  the  direction  of 
Gielgudyszki,  which  would  have  left  the  enemy  in 
our  rear ;  while  on  the  other  side  of  the  Niemen, 
the  enemy  were  not  in  force  enough  to  prevent  our 
passage.  But,  instead  of  doing  this,  as  if  to  in- 
sure our  ruin,  a  small  detachment,  consisting  of 
four  squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  the  sappers,  under 
the  command  of  colonel  Koss,  were  sent  to  make 
a  bridge  over  the  Niemen  !  This  measure  is  per- 
fectly inexplicable.  Scarcely  had  this  detachment 
arrived  at  the  river,  and  commenced  the  erection 
of  the  bridge,  when  they  were  attacked  on  two 
sides,  by  the  cuirassiers  and  the  artillery  of  the 
enemy.  They  were  saved  only  by  the  judicious 
conduct  of  colonel  Koss,  who  threw  himself  into 
the  protection  of  the  neighboring  forest,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  rejoining  the  corps.  The  loss  which  we 
incurred  by  this  expedition,  of  all  our  implements 
for  the  construction  of  bridges,  was  irreparable. 

From  this  time,  the  enemy  did  not  for  a  moment 
lose  sight  of  us ;  and  throwing  his  superior  forces 
upon  the  great  road  which  leads  from  Keydany, 
through  Rosseyny  (14),  to  Szawla,  forced  us  to 
take  that  direction  which  was  the  most  dangerous 
for  us,  as  the  field  of  operation  for  our  forces  was 
pontinually  becoming  more  and  more  contracted. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  357 


COMBAT  OF  ROSSEYJNY. 


The  cause  of  this  action,  which  it  would  have 
been  most  desirable  to  have  avoided,  was  a  strong 
attack  by  the  enemy  upon  the  rear-guard  of  gen- 
eral Chlapowski  which  was  marching  on  the  road 
to  Szawla.  To  avoid  exposing  the  rear-guard  to 
a  great  loss,  or  even  to  the  chance  of  it,  the  com- 
mand was  given,  to  take  position,  and  the  corps 
was  placed  in  order  of  battle.  The  battle  of  Ros- 
seyny,  which  lasted  scarcely  four  hours,  was  very 
sanguinary,  and  highly  honorable  to  the  Polish 
arms.  The  object  of  the  enemy  on  this  occasion 
was  to  surround  our  left  wing.  As  soon  as  he  per- 
ceived that  our  corps  had  taken  position  and  was 
arranged  in  order  of  battle,  the  enemy  brought  for- 
ward his  artillery,  consisting  of  24  pieces  of  can- 
non, and  commenced  a  heavy  fire  upon  our  centre. 
This  fire  did  not  cause  a  great  loss,  for,  our  posi- 
tion being  elevated,  the  shot  struck  too  low  to  be 
effective.  A  few  moments  after  this  fire  of  artil- 
lery was  commenced,  a  strong  column  of  Russian 
cavalry  showed  itself  on  our  right  wing.  This 
column  had  with  it  a  body  of  %ht  artillery,  which 
commenced  fire  also.  On  our  left  wing,  which 
was  supported  upon  a  marsh,  and,  for  that  reason, 
in  little  expectation  of  an  attack,  but  a  small  force 
was  collected.  This  wing  was  composed  of  a  bat- 
talion of  infantry  and  the  1st  regiment  of  lancers. 
These  troops  had  been  placed  on  this  wing  to  re- 
pose from  the  combats  and  fatigues  of  the  day  and 
45 


358  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

night  preceding,  in  which  they  had  acted  as  rear- 
guard. The  brave  lancers,  however,  at  the  first 
sight  of  the  enemy,  demanded  of  the  general  to  be 
permitted  to  make  a  charge.  This  permission 
being  given,  at  the  first  discharge  of  the  Russian 
artillery,  our  soldiers  threw  themselves  with  im- 
petuosity upon  both  the  cavalry  and  the  artillery  of 
the  enemy.  The  capture  of  sixty  prisoners  and 
the  spiking  of  three  cannon  were  the  fruits  of  this 
brilliant  attack.  It  was  the  last  charge  of  that 
brave  regiment. 

Our  centre  was  not  less  fortunate  than  our  left 
wing.  Our  artillery  being  better  placed  than  that 
of  the  enemy,  several  of  his  pieces  WT.re  dismount- 
ed, and  his  fire  began  to  slacken.  For  some  hours 
a  light  fire  of  tirailleurs  was  continued  on  both 
sides,  when  our  generals,  seeing  that  the  enemy 
did  not  renew  the  attack,  gave  orders  to  evacuate 
the  position,  and  to  resume  the  march  for  Szawla. 

On  the  same  night,  the  corps  arrived  at  Cyto- 
wiany.  There  our  forces  were  joined  by  the  corps 
of  general  Rohland,  which  had  had  a  bloody  skir- 
mish at  Beysagola,  [Plan  XXXIV,  (15)]  on  the 
same  day  on  which  general  Dembinski  'was  also 
attacked  at  Poniewieze.  The  corps  of  general 
Chlapowski  left  the  next  day  for  the  attack  of 
Szawla,  which  was  occupied  by  a  Russian  garri- 
son. The  corps  of  general  Dembinski,  which  as 
we  have  already  stated,  was  marching  by  another 
route  upon  Szawla,  arrived  there  at  mid-day  on 
the  7th.     That  general,  considering  the  smallness 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  359 

of  the  Russian  garrison  in  this  town,  consisting 
only  of  four  battalions  of  infantry,  and  six  pieces 
of  cannon,  after  waiting  a  short  time  for  the  arriv- 
al of  the  corps  of  general  Chlapowski,  concluded 
to  send  a  summons,  by  colonel  Miroszewski,  to 
the  Russian  commandant,  proposing  to  him  to 
surrender,  and  save  a  useless  effusion  of  blood. 
The  Russian  colonel  Kurow  would  not  accept  of 
these  friendly  propositions,  and  compelled  general 
Dembinski  to  order  an  attack  ;  a  very  moderate 
one,  however,  as  he  was  in  hopes  that  the  arrival 
of  our  superior  forces  would  soon  convince  the 
Russian  commander  that  a  defence  would  be  use- 
less. In  fact,  the  corps  of  general  Chlapowski 
arrived  at  about  5,  P.  M.  at  a  village  about  four 
miles  from  Szawla,  where  he  was  met  by  an  offi- 
cer, sent  by  general  Dembinski,  with  a  report  of  the 
circumstances  which  had  taken  place.  Indeed,  the 
sound  of  the  cannon  and  musquetry,  ought  already 
to  have  satisfied  general  Chlapowski  that  general 
Dembinski  was  engaged  in  the  attack  ;  but  instead 
of  hastening  to  his  assistance  he  went  into  camp, 
and  thus  remained  until  two  hours  past  midnight. 
At  two  o'clock  then,  of  the  morning  of  the  8th, 
the  corps  took  up  the  march,  and  arrived  by  day- 
break before  Szawla. 


ATTACK   ON   SZAWLA. 

On  examining  the  plan  of  this  battle,  and  con- 
sidering the  smallness  of  the  Russian  garrison  in 


360  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Szawla,  we  cannot  but  be  satisfied  that  the  town 
ought  to  have  been  taken  at  the  first  assault,  and 
it  will  seem  almost  incredible  that  after  having 
occupied  four  hours  in  an  unsuccessful  attack,  we 
should  have  at  last  quitted  our  position. 

On  arriving  on  the  plain  before  Szawla,  the  two 
corps  were  placed  in  order  of  battle.  The  force 
of  general  Dembinski  changed  its  position,  and 
formed  our  left  wing.  We  commenced  a  fire  of 
artillery  from  the  right  wing  and  the  centre,  at  the 
same  time  throwing  forward  our  skirmishers.  The 
enemy  had  made  an  entrenchment  round  the  whole 
town,  behind  which  his  infantry  was  concealed  ; 
and  upon  the  right  of  the  town  he  had  constructed 
a  redoubt.  On  the  sides  of  the  town  against  which 
the  right  wing  and  centre  were  posted,  a  general 
fire  of  musquetry  and  artillery  was  commenced, 
under  the  cover  of  which  our  light  troops  endeav- 
ored to  take  possession  of  the  ramparts. 

General  Szymanowski  and  colonel  Pientka,  who 
were  the  only  general  officers  who  were  actively 
engaged  in  this  battle,  seeing  that  this  attack  of 
the  light  troops  upon  the  Russian  infantry,  thus 
safely  entrenched,  was  very  destructive  to  us,  and 
would  prolong  the  attack,  ordered  two  battalions 
of  infantry,  under  colonel  Jeroma  and  Piwecki,  to 
make  an  assault,  protected  by  two  pieces  of  cannon 
and  a  squadron  of  the  3d  regiment  of  lancers. 
This  order  was  executed  with  the  greatest  deter- 
mination. Our  artillery  having  fired  two  rounds 
of  grape,  the  two  battalions  of  infantry  entered  the 
city  at  the  charge,  and  regardless  of  the  terrible  fire 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  361 

from  the  windows  of  the  houses,  they  reached  the 
market-place  of  the  town.*     The  enemy  was  in 
consternation,  and  the   taking  of  a  hundred  pris- 
oners by  us,   showed  the  disorder  into  which  he 
had  already  fallen.     If  but  two  other  battalions 
had  been  sent  to  support  those  which  had  entered 
the  town*,  the  attack  would  have  ended  here.     But 
this  was  neglected,  and  the  latter  were  remaining 
in  their  dangerous  situation,  while  the  rest  of  our 
forces  were  uselessly  engaged,  and   received   no 
orders.     The  bold  idea  of  the  brave  colonel  Pientka, 
of  forcing   the  attack,  was    no  where    seconded. 
The  corps  of  general  Dembinski  remained  wholly 
inactive,  although  officers  were  occasionally  sent 
by  him  to  general  Chlapowski  for  orders.     By  this 
fault  the  battalions  who  had  entered  the  city, were 
exposed  to  the  superior  forces  of  the  enemy,  who, 
falling  upon  them  from  all   sides,  forced  them  to 
quit  the  city,  leaving  among  their  dead  the  brave 
colonels  Jeroma  and  Piwecki,  and  nearly  one  half 
of  their  whole  number.f     With  the  retreat  of  these 
brave  battalions,  all  our  forces  commenced  evacu- 
ating their  position, — we  cannot  tell  for  what  rea- 
son.    The  enemy  did  not  attack  us  ;   on  the  con- 
trary, he  was  well  satisfied  with  the  cessation  of 
hostilities  on  our  part.     At  9  o'clock  our  corps  re- 
commenced its  march. 

*  The  Jewish  inhabitants  of  the  city  even  fired  upon  our 
soldiers.  Many  of  them  were  taken  with  pistols  in  their 
hands,  and  afterwards  executed. 

t  In  this  affair  we  ought  to  make  particular  mention  of 
the  estimable  Laga,  a  priest,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
squadron  in  this  attack,  having  the  cross  in  one  hand  and 
the  sabre  in  the  other. 


362  THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

These  are  the  details  of  the  battle,  or  rather  the 
attack,  of  Szawla,  which  town  we  quitted,  after 
investing  it  for  nearly  five  hours,  and  after  having 
sustained  a  severe  loss  in  men  and  officers,  a  sacri- 
fice which  was  owing  to  our  most  defective  and  ill- 
judged  arrangements. 

On  this  same  day,  we  were  again  unfortunate, 
in  the  loss  of  all  our  baggage  and  several  wagons 
of  ammunition,  which  were  sent  forward  by  a  road 
on  our  right,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  light 
Circassian  cavalry  of  the  enemy. 

This  battle  discovered  an  extreme  of  negligence 
in  our  commander  in  chief.  With  the  knowledge 
that  the  enemy  was  pursuing  us  in  the  rear,  and 
on  each  side,  we  remained  uselessly  encamped 
during  the  night  of  the  7th,  which  we  ought  to 
have  employed  in  the  attack.  The  true  course 
should  have  been  to  have  set  fire  to  the  place, 
which  would  have  required  only  the  agency  of  a 
few  bold  men.  This  town,  indeed,  deserved  no 
better  fate  ;  for  it  was  inhabited  almost  exclusively 
by  hostile  Jews.  When  the  general  welfare  is  at 
risk,  there  should  be  no  hesitation  in  sacrificing 
the  convenience  of  individuals.  If  we  compare  the 
consequences  of  having  burnt  this  town,  and  of 
having  attacked  it,  we  shall  see  that,  by  the  for- 
mer course,  we  should  have  compelled  the  Jews  to 
fly  with  their  effects,  and  the  Russian  garrison  to 
surrender,  without  any  effusion  of  blood,  while,  by 
attacking  it,  we  lost  nearly  one  thousand  men, 
without  any  advantage  whatever. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  363 

In  regard  to  the  attack,  the  surrounding  of  the 
town  was  a  great  fault ;  for  neither  the  fire  of  the 
artillery  nor  of  the  light  troops  could  be  effective, 
as  the  Russian  artillery  was  in  a  domiwant  posi- 
tion, and  was  concealed  within  the  city,  as  their 
infantry  was  behind  their  entrenchments.  The 
skirmishers,  in  approaching  the  city,  fell,  without 
having  harmed  the  enemy.  The  plan  of  colonel 
Pientka,  of  masking  the  attack  on  one  side,  and 
forcing  the  attack  upon  the  other,  at  a  single  point, 
was  well  conceived,  but  failed,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  the  want  of  support* 

At  about  ten  o'clock  the  flanking  parties  of  the 
Russian  cavalry  began  to  show  themselves  on  each 
side  of  us,  upon  the  road  to  Wilkomierz,  and  on 
that  of  Cytowiany.  Our  corps  was  already  on  the 
march  for  Kurszany.  The  1st  regiment  of  lancers 
and  the  light  artillery  were  designated  as  a  rear- 
guard. This  rear-guard,  taking  advantage  of  a 
small  defile,  which  presented  a  favorable  position, 
took  post  there,  and  sustained  themselves  for  some 
hours  against  an  attack  from  the  Russian  advanced 
guard  ;  tjius  protecting  the  march  of  our  main  body, 
which  was  executed  with  the  greatest  order.  The 
lancers  and  light  artillery  then  evacuated  their 
position,  by  a  retreat  at  full  speed,  which,  by  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  windings  of  the  road,  and  the 
vicinity  of  the  forests,  they  were  able  to  effect  with 
inconsiderable  loss.  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  we  arrived  at  Kurszany.  On  the  next  day 
we  remained  some  hours  in  that  place,  to  hold  a 


364  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

council  of  war.  General  Chlapowski  proposed  to 
divide  our  forces  into  three  corps,  each  to  act  inde- 
pendently. This  arrangement  vras  carried  into 
effect,  aifd  our  forces  were  thus  distributed. 

The  1st  corps,  under  general  Chlapowski,  with 
which  general  Gielgud  remained,  consisted  of  five 
battalions  of  infantry,  amounting  to  1 ,500  men  ; 
four  squadrons  of  the  1st  regiment  of  lancers,  and 
two  squadrons  of  Kaliszian  cavalry ;  in  all,  450 
horse,  and  an  artillery  consisting  of  13  pieces  of 
cannon. 

This  corps  received  the  destination,  to  march 
for  Rosseyny,  leaving  the  enemy  on  the  right,  and 
from  thence  directly  for  Kowno,  and,  by  this  un- 
suspected march,  to  surprise  the  last  important 
position.  By  that  means,  the  communication  be- 
tween us  and  Poland  would  be  re-opened  ;  and  to 
protect  this  communication  was  to  be  the  principal 
employment  of  that  corps. 

The  2d  corps,  under  the  command  of  generals 
Rohland  and  Szymanowski,  was  composed  of  eight 
battalions  of  infantry,  amounting  to  about  3,000 
men  ;  all  the  cavalry  which  was  recently  formed 
in  Lithuania,  consisting  of  nearly  1,000  horse; 
and  an  artillery,  commanded  by  the  brave  colonel 
Pientka,  consisting  of  12  pieces  of  cannon. 

This  corps  was  directed  to  march  upon  Polonga, 
a  port  on  the  Baltic.  It  had  been  rumored  that 
two  French  vessels  with  arms,  funds,  and  ammuni- 
tion, together  with  a  small  body  of  volunteers, 
were  cruising  near  that  port.     After  they  should 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  S65 

have  received  these  expected  supplies,  the  corps 
w^as  directed  to  march  towards- the  Dwina,  and,  by 
following  along  the  banks  of  that  river,  to  observe 
and  interrupt  the  communications  between  the 
forces  of  the  enemy  in  Lithuania,  and  the  province 
of  Courland. 

The  3d  corps,  under  general  Dembinski,  was 
composed  of  three  battalions  of  infantry  of  the 
18th  regiment,  recently  formed,  consisting  of  about 
1,000  men;  two  squadrons  of  the  lancers  of  Poz- 
nan,  two  squadrons  of  the  lancers  of  Plock,  and 
one  squadron  of  the  3d  regiment  of  Hulans,  in  all, 
about  500  cavalry  ;  and  seven  pieces  of  artillery. 
This  corps  received  orders  to  march  for  the  envi- 
rons of  Szawla,  traversing  the  forests,  and  leaving 
the  enemy  on  the  right ;  from  thence  to  take  a 
direction  to  Wilkomierz,  and  thence  to  the  envi- 
rons of  Wilno,  and  to  attack  that  city,  if  circum- 
stances might  allow  of  it ;  and  then  to  manoeuvre  in 
the  department  of  Minsk,  and  in  the  forests  of  Bia- 
lystok,  acting  there  in  support  of  the  insurrection, 
and  collecting  the  forces  of  the  insurgents.  An 
important  object  of  this  corps  was  to  support  a 
communication  with  the  corps  of  general  Chlapow- 
ski.  This  plan,  the  reader  will  observe,  was,  in 
many  of  its  points,  the  same  with  that  suggested 
by  colonel  Valentin.  * 

A  proper  reflection  upon  all  these   arrangements 

would  convince  any  one  that  much  more  loss  than 

advantage  was  to  be  anticipated  from  them.     This 

subdivision  of  the  force  was,  in  fact,  a  visionary 

46 


S66  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

scheme.  Many  officers  openly  declared  their  opin- 
ions to  this  effect,  and  urged  that  in  our  critical 
situation,  almost  surrounded  as  we  were  by  a  hos- 
tile force,  so  superior  to  our  own,  we  ought  not  to 
form  any  new  projects,  but,  profiting  by  the  con- 
centration of  our  forces,  to  redouble  the  rapidity  of 
our  march,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the  forests  and 
covered  roads,  to  reach  Poland  as  soon  as  possible. 
This  would,  indeed,  be  attended  with  difficulties  ; 
but  it  would  still  be  much  easier  of  execution,  and 
much  more  proper  to  be  attempted,  than  the  plan 
which  we  have  detailed.  Such  views,  however, 
were  not  regarded.  The  project  was  highly  col- 
ored, and  the  most  brilliant  successes  were  pro- 
mised to  follow  it.  The  separation  of  the  corps 
was  accordingly  ordered,  and  our  fate  was  sealed. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  three  subdivisions  of  the  Lithuanian  corps  take  their  respective 
destinations. — Details  of  the  operations  of  that  of  general  Rohland. — 
He  meets  alone  the  attack  of  the  whole  Russian  force. — Battle  of  Po- 
wenduny  and  Worna. — General  Rohland,  on  his  way  to  Polonga, 
learns  that  general  Chlapowski  had  marched  towards  the  Prussian 
frontier. — He  presses  his  march  to  overtake  and  form  a  junction  with 
him. — The  greater  part  of  the  corps  of  Gielgud  and  Chlapowski  were 
found  to  have  passed  the  frontier,  when  that  of  Rohland  came  in  sight. 
— Indignation  of  the  soldiery. — Death  of  general  Gielgud. — General 
Rohland,  joined  by  a  portion  of  the  corps  of  Gielgud  which  had  not 
yet  passed  the  frontier,  continues  his  march  to  Nowe-Miasto. — He  de- 
clines a  proposition  from  general  Kreutz,  to  surrender. — Successful 
skirmish  with  the  enemy's  cavalry. — General  Rohland  takes  a  position 
at  Nowe-Miasto,  and  awaits  the  enemy. — The  Russian  forces,  howev- 
er, do  not  continue  their  pursuit,  but  go  into  camp. — Propositions  to 
pass  the  frontier  are  sent  to  general  Rohland  by  the  Prussian  authori- 
ties.— They  are  submitted  to  the  corps,  and  accepted. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  at  about  10,  A.  M.,  each  of 
the  threesubdivisions  of  the  corps  took  the  road  de- 
signated for  it.  From  this  moment,  commences  a 
new  epoch  in  our  operations  in  Lithuania,  and  we 
shall  give  a  separate  detail  of  the  proceedings  of 
each  of  these  corps,  commencing  with  that  of  gen- 
eral Rohland,  which  was  in  the  line  of  the  enemy's 
pursuit,  and  was  followed  bj  his  whole  force. 
This  corps,  quitting  Kurszanj,  took  the  road  for 
Telze.  On  the  night  of  the  10th,  it  arrived  at 
Powenduny  and  the  lake  of  Worna.  Upon  the 
road,  it  was  joined  by  colonel  Koss,  who  had  been 
sent,  as  we  have  said,  with  his  detachment,  from 
Keydany,  to  construct  a  bridge  over  the  Niemen, 
and  who  had  extricated  himself  from  the  exposed 
situation  in  which  this  attempt  had  placed  him. 
As  the  position  was  advantageous,  and  as  our  sol- 


368  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

diers  had  need  of  repose  after  their  fatiguing  march, 
we  remained  there  the  whole  night.  On  the  next 
day,  at  sunrise,  our  camp  was  alarmed  by  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Circassian  cavalry  of  the  enemy. 
Our  generals  decided  to  wait  the  enemy's  attack 
in  their  eligible  position,  and  that  day  was  one  of 
most  brilliant  success.  We  will  present  to  the 
reader  full  details  of  the  events  of  that  day,  for 
they  were  of  an  extremely  interesting  character. 
The  manoeuvres  of  all  our  forces  were  admirable  ; 
but  those  of  the  cavalry  were  indeed  extraordinary. 
The  reader  will  be  astonished  to  find  how  much 
was  done  by  a  cavalry,  fatigued,  their  accoutre- 
ments in  disorder,  and  almost  without  ammunition, 
against  a  cavalry  like  that  of  the  enemy,  well 
mounted,  with  fresh  horses,  and  in  every  respect 
in  perfect  order. 


COMBAT  OF  POWENDUNY  AND  WORNA. 

The  battle  commenced  at  sunrise,  as  we  have 
already  mentioned,  with  an  attack  from  two  squad- 
rons of  Circassian  cavalry.  Those  squadrons  turn- 
ed our  outer  guard,  and  came  in  contact  with  our 
tirailleurs,  who  received  them  with  a  warm  and 
unexpected  fire.  These  tirailleurs  were  concealed 
in  the  forest  and  brushwood.  The  Circassians 
halted,  and  commenced  a  fire  of  carbines  in  return. 
Our  fire  could  not  but  be  attended  with  great  loss 
to  the  enemy,  and  they  were  forced,  to  retire.     In 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  369 

this  retreat,  our  own  cavalry,  which  was  at  Pow- 
endimj,  and  which  had  debouched  by  a  covered 
road,  and  taken  position,  entirely  surrounded  these 
two  squadrons,  and,  attacking  them   on  all   sides, 
causing  a  severe   loss  and  taking  forty  prisoners. 
An  hour  after,  the  Russians   renewed  the  attack. 
Strong   columns  of  infantry    and   cavalry  passed 
through  a  little  village  which  is  on  the  road  from 
Kurszany  to  Powenduny.     The  Russian  artillery 
took  positions  upon  the  declivity  of  the  heights 
adjoining  that  village,  and  commenced  a  fire  upon 
our  cavalry.     At  the  same  time,  several  columns  of 
the    Russian  infantry   threw  themselves    into  the 
brushwood  on   the  right  of  our  position,  while  a 
strong  detachment,  composed  of  infantry,  artillery, 
and  cavalry,   was  pushed  forward  upon  our  right 
wing,  with   tlie  design  to  turn  our  flank,  and,  by 
surrounding  us,  to  cut  off  our  communications  with 
Worna.     This    detachment,    after    losing    several 
hours  in  attempting  to  act  upon  us,  under  the  ob- 
stacles which  were  presented  by  the  marshy  nature 
of  the  ground,  returned   without  having  effected 
any  thing.     Our  generals,  seeing  the  superior  force 
of  the  enemy,  ordered  our  cavalry  to  retire,  and 
to  place  themselves  in   the  rear  of  our  artillery, 
which    occupied  heights    commanding   the    whole 
vicinity,  and  arrested  by  an  incessant  fire,  for  more 
than  four  hours,  the  advance  of  the  enemy.     After 
our   cavalry  had    retired,  the  tirailleurs  began  to 
evacuate   the  wood,  and  concentrating  themselves 
upon  the  road  to  Powenduny,  retired  also,  after 


370  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

having  destroyed  the  bridge  which  crosses  a  small 
marshy  stream,  intersecting  the  road,  and  burnt  a 
faubourg  which  adjoins  Powenduny,  and  was  near 
this  bridge.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  when, 
at  about  ten  o'clock,  a  flag  was  announced  from 
the  Russian  commander.  It  was  brought  by  an 
aid-de-camp  of  general  Delinghausen.  The  propo- 
sition borne  by  this  flag  was,  that  we  should  sur- 
render, on  the  ground  that  we  were  engaged  with 
the  whole  of  the  Russian  force,  amounting  to  nearly 
20,000  men,  and  that  that  force  had  already  occu- 
pied the  road  to  Worna,  the  only  communication 
which  remained  to  us.  This  proposition  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  usual  considerations,  —  the  wish  to 
prevent  the  needless  eflusion  of  blood,  &;c.  It  was 
declined,  and  the  aid-de-camp  returned  to  the  Rus- 
sian head-quarters,  but  in  a  short  time  appeared 
again  with  a  renewal  of  the  proposition.  General 
Szymanowski,  who  received  the  aid-de-camp,  per- 
sisted in  his  refusal,  adding,  that  '  he  knew  the 
duties  of  a  soldier — duties  which  were  doublv  ob-' 
ligatory  upon  one  who  is  fighting  in  the  cause  of 
liberty,  and  in  ihe  defence  of  the  country  of  his 
ancestors.'  After  the  departure  of  the  aid-de- 
camp, the  order  was  given  to  the  artillery  and  in- 
fantry to  re-commence  their  fire.  At  the  same 
time,  arrangements  were  made  for  the  continuation 
of  our  march  to  Worna.  At  about  mid -day,  our 
columns  of  infantry,  and  a  part  of  the  cavalry  and 
artillery,  quitted  their  position,  and  took  up  the 
march  for  Worna.     After  a  short  tiipe,  there  re- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  371 

mained  but  one  battalion  of  infantry,  and  three 
squadrons  of  cavalry.  The  cavalry  w^as  employed 
to  mask  the  withdrawing  of  the  remaining  artil- 
lery. After  our  corps  had,  by  a  march,  arranged 
in  the  manner  we  have  described,  reached  a  point 
sufficiently  distant  from  our  first  position,  the  bat- 
talion of  light  infantry  which  remained  in  that  po- 
sition was  ordered  to  withdraw  as  far  as  certain 
mills,  keeping  up  a  retreating  fire.  After  passing 
those  mills,  the  tirailleurs  received  orders  to  run 
at  full  speed  to  rejoin  the  corps,  and  to  occupy  the 
adjoining  forests,  while  the  cavalry  were  ordered  to 
take  post  at  the  mills,  to  cover  this  movement,  and 
afterwards  to  retire  slowly,  pass  a  small  village 
which  was  on  the  road,  and  on  the  opposite  sijde  of 
that  village  to  await  the  approach  of  the  enemy. 
This  manoeuvre  was  well  executed  by  both  the 
infantry  and  cavalry,  the  latter  placing  themselves 
on  rather  an  open  space  behind  the  village,  to 
await  the  enemy.  After  some  time,  six  squadrons 
of  the  light  Russian  cavalry,  consisting  of  hussars 
and  Circassians,  passed  through  the  village,  and 
seeing  the  small  number  of  our  cavalry,  gave  the 
hurrah,  and  threw  themselves  upon  them.  Our 
cavalry,  expecting  this  attack,  received  orders  to 
quit  their  position  with  promptness,  in  order  to 
lead  the  Russian  cavalry  upon  the  fire  of  our  infan- 
try, who  were  concealed  in  the  woods.  The  Rus- 
sian cavalry,  presuming  that  this  was  a  disorderly 
retreat,  followed  with  impetuosity,  while  our  cav- 
alry threw  themselves  on  one  side,  to  pass  a  ford 


372  THE   POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

which  had  been  designated  for  that  object,  and 
thus  left  the  enemy  exposed  in  a  mass,  to  the  fire 
of  our  tirailleurs.  The  manoeuvre  cost  the  Rus- 
sians two  hundred  men,  by  the  acknowledgment  of 
officers  who  were  made  prisoners.  After  having 
caused  this  severe  loss  to  the  enemy,  our  infantry 
and  cavalry  retired  slowly,  to  occupy  their  third 
position,  and  the  enemy  did  not  follow. 

A  short  time  after  we  quitted  our  second  posi- 
tion, the  Russian  cavalry  showed  themselves  again. ' 
General  Szymanowski  remained,  with  two  compa- 
nies of  the  7th  regiment  of  the  line,  to  defend  the 
passage  of  the  third  village  against  the  enemy,  and 
to  give  time  to  our  cavalry  to  take  a  third  position. 
This,  general,  for  nearly  an  hour,  resisted  the  at- 
tack of  a  strong  force  of  cavalry,  but  commenced 
evacuating  the  position  on  the  approach  of  con- 
siderable bodies  of  the  Russian  infantry,  withdraw- 
ing through  the  forests.  The  Russian  cavalry, 
seeing  that  the  village  was  abandoned  by  our  in- 
fantry, began  to  debouch  through  it.  It  was  an 
act  of  the  greatest  imprudence  in  the  Russian  cav- 
alry, unsupported  by  either  infantry  or  artillery,  to 
advance  thus  upon  a  plain  surrounded  by  forests, 
in  which  they  might  have  supposed  infantry,  and 
even  cavalry,  to  be  concealed.  Two  squadrons  of 
our  cavalry  commenced  a  fire  in  order  to  harass 
them,  and  draw  them  on  to  the  middle  of  the  plain. 
Afterwards,  those  two  squadrons  wheeling  about, 
laid  open  the  Russian  cavalry  to  the  fire  of  our 
artillery,  which  was  posted  on  a  little  elevation  and 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  373 

concealed  by  brushwood.  This  fire  of  our  artil- 
lery was  effective.  The  enemy's  cavalry  began  to 
waver.  General  Szymanowski  observing  this,  or- 
dered an  inimediate  attack  by  our  whole  cavalry, 
consisting  of  twelve  squadrons.  This  attack  was 
made  with  great  impetuosity.  Sixteen  hussars, 
with  two  officers,  were  taken  prisoners,  and  forty 
or  fifty  were  left,  killed  or  w^ounded,  on  the  field. 
After  this,  the  corps  recommenced  its  march  to 
Worna,  leaving  two  battalions  of.  the  7th  regiment 
of  infantry,  as  a  rear-guard,  in  the  forests  which 
border  on  that  road. 

The  successes  which  we  had  thus  obtained  in 
our  three  first  positions  were  over  the  advanced 
guard  of  the  enemy  ;  but  in  the  fourth  position, 
arranged  by  the  brave  and  skilful  colonel  Koss,  and 
in  which  our  successes  were  even  greater,  w^e  had 
to  encounter  the  whole  body  of  the  Russian  forces 
in  Lithuania,  which,  according  to  some  of  our  pris- 
oners, were  to  be  estimated  at  18,000,  and  by- 
others  at  25,000  men,  with  36  pieces  of  artillery, 
under  the  command  of  the  several  Russian  generals, 
Kreutz,  Tolstoy,  Szyrman,  Delinghausen,  and  Sa- 
ken.  The  town  of  Worna  is  surrounded  by  two 
large  lakes,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  only  com- 
munication with  that  town  to  the  west,  is  by  a 
neck  of  land,  separating  the  extremities  of  those 
two  lakes.  The  town  is  situated  upon  an  elevated 
ground,  which  overlooks  the  whole  vicinity.  On 
our  left  wing  was  a  forest,  that  reached  one  of  the 
lakes.     This  forest  was  occupied  by  two  battalions 

47 


374  THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION. 

of  infantry.  Our  right  wing  leaned  upon  the  other 
lake.  All  our  artillery  remained  in  the  centre,  and 
occupied  the  heights  near  Worna. 

When  our  arrangements  were  completed,  we 
heard  the  fire  of  the  two  battalions  composing  our 
rear-guard,  who  were  engaged,  while  withdrawing, 
with  the  Russian  infantry.  Strong  columns  of  the 
enemy's  infantry,  which  were  following  these  bat- 
talions began  to  debouch  from  the  forest,  and  to 
deploy  upon  the  plains  before  Worna.*  Those  col- 
umns were  followed  by  the  enemy's  artillery,  12 
pieces  of  which  took  post  on  the  side  of  the  road, 
and  immediately  opened  a  fire  upon  our  centre. 
At  the  same  time,  a  warm  fire  of  skirmishers  was 
commenced  on  each  side.  Our  artillery,  which 
was  very  advantageously  placed,  without  replying 
to  that  of  the  enemy,  opened  a  fire  upon  the  col- 
umns of  the  enemy's  infantry.  Before  night,  the 
whole  Russian  forces  had  deployed  upon  the  plain, 
•and  a  powerful  attack  on  their  side  was  expected  ; 
but  instead  of  this  we  were  astonished  to  find  that 
their  fire  began  to  slacken,  perhaps  owing  to  a 
heavy  rain,  which  had  just  began  to  fall.  Our 
commander  with  the  view  to  profit  by  this  rain 
and  the  approach  of  darkness,  after  an  interval  of 
not  more  than  ten  minutes,  ordered  the  two  bat- 
talions which  remained  in  the  forests  on  our  left,  to 
make  a  sudden  charge  with  the  bayonet  upon  the 
right  wing  of  the  enemy.  These  battalions,  under 
the  command  of  the  brave  colonel  Michalowski, 
performed  prodigies  of  valor  in  this  charge,  and 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  375 

bore  down  all  before  them.     Colonel  Koss  at  the 
same  time  taking  the  command  of  the  cavalry,  and 
addressing  a  few  exciting  words  to  them,  led  them 
upon  the  centre  of  the  enemy  at  the  charge.     The 
constei nation  of  the    Russians    was  extreme.     A 
great  part  of  their  cavalrj  was  found  dismounted, 
for  they  had  not  the  least  expectation  of  an  attack  ; 
their  artillery  fled,  and  abandoned  their*  cannon  ; 
the  utmost  disorder  followed,  and  a  vast  number  of 
the   enemy  fell  upon  the  field.     According  to  the 
testimony  of  prisoners,   the  consternation  was  at 
such  a  height  that  we  might  have  put  their- whole 
corps  to  rout.     Our  forces,  however,  could  not  fol- 
low up  these  advantages  ;  for  the  obscurity  of  the 
night  and  our  own  weakness  made  it  impossible. 
We  were  content  wdth  having  reduced  the  strength 
of  the  enemy  by  the  great  losses  we  had  occasion- 
ed ;  and  we  continued  our  route  towards  the  sea- 
port of  Polonga,  agreeably  to  our  orders,  where  we 
were  looking  for  reinforcements,  and  w^here    our 
generals  believed  that  the  corps  of  general  Chla- 
powski  would  join,  and  act  with  us  upon  some 
new  plan.     On  the  morning  of  the  12th  w^e  arriv- 
ed at  Retow. 

The  battle  of  Powenduny  and  Worna,  in  which 
we  had  beaten  the  Russians  in  four  positions,  and 
which  cost  the  enemy  more  than  a  thousand  men, 
including  prisoners  and  wounded,  renewed  our 
hopes.  We  were  expecting,  as  we  have  said,  new 
accessions  of  strength  at  Polonga ;  and  we  were 
not  without  hope  that  our  other  corps  under  Dem- 


376  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

binski  and  Chlapowski,  who  could  not  have  been 
far  distant,  finding  that  we  had  been  thus  engaged 
and  so  successfully,  with  the  w^hole  force  of  the 
enemy,  would  change  their  plan  of  operations,  and 
attack  him  in  his  rear  or  his  flank.  To  this  end, 
in  fact,  on  the  very  morning  of  that  battle,  after 
our  first  successes,  we  sent  two  officers  in  the  di- 
rection of  Dembinski  and  Chlapowski,  to  apprize 
them  of  the  circumstances  in  which  we  were  plac- 
ed, and  especially  to  inform  them  of  the  important 
fact  that  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy  were  before 
us.  With  these  hopes  awakened  in  our  minds,  our 
disappointment  may  be  imagined  on  learning,  at 
Retow,  that  the  corps  of  general  Chlapowski  had 
passed  through  that  place  on  the  day  before,  in  a 
rapid  march  towards  the  Prussian  frontier.  During 
the  battle  of  Powenduny,  therefore,  the  corps  of 
general  Chlapowski  was  at  the  distance  of  only 
Jour  miles  from  us.  He  heard  our  fire  during  the 
whole  day,  but  instead  of  marching  to  our  support, 
which,  as  we  afterwards  learnt,  his  officers  and 
even  his  soldiers  loudly  called  upon  him  to  do,  he 
declined  doing  it,  answering  their  appeals  in  the 
following  terms  :  — '  What  do  you  ask  of  me,  gen- 
tlemen ?  I  can  assure  you  that  the  corps  of  gen- 
eral Rohland,  on  whom  the  whole  force  of  the  ene- 
my has  fallen,  is  destroyed.  The  baggage  of  his 
officers  have  passed  through  Retow.*     All  is  lost, 

*  It.  might  have  been  the  case,  that  a  few  wagons  with 
some  of  the  baggage  of  the  corps,  were  sent  in  advance  in 
the  direction  of  Polonga,  merely  as  a  precautionary  ar- 
rangement. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  377 

and,  surrounded  as  we  are  on  all  sides  by  the  ene- 
my, it  only  remains  for  us  to  seek  at  once  the  fron- 
tiers of  Prussia,  and  to  throw  ourselves  upon  the 
protection  of  that  power.' 

Generals  Rohland  and  Szymanowski,  on  receiv- 
ing the  unwelcome  intelligence  of  the  course  which 
general  Chlapowski  had  adopted,  concluded  to 
change  their  plan  of  operations,  and  instead  of  go- 
ing to  Polonga,  to  follow  the  march  of  general 
Chlapowski,  to  endeavor  to  join  him  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  by  exhibiting  to  him  the  unimpaired 
strength  of  our  corps,  which  he  had  believed  to  be 
annihilated,  to  induce  him  to  abandon  the  project 
of  crossing  the  Prussian  frontier,  and  to  make  some 
farther  attempts  in  junction  with  us. 

With  this  view,  after  resting  a  few  hours  at 
Retow,  we  left,  by  a  forced  march,  for  Gorzdy,  a 
small  town  near  the  Prussian  frontier,  at  which  we 
hoped  to  overtake  the  corps  of  general  Chlapowski, 
and  at  which  we  arrived  on  the  next  day  (13th,)  at 
noon.  But  it  was  already  too  late.  The  greater 
part  of  the  corps  of  Chlapowski  and  Gielgud  had 
passed  the  frontier  at  the  village  of  Czarna,  about 
a  half  league  from  the  former  place,  and  an  incon- 
siderable part  only  of  the  corps,  which  had  not  yet 
passed  over,  could  unite  with  us.  The  other  part 
were  already  advanced  a  considerable  distance 
within  the  Prussian  territory,  and  having  been  dis- 
armed, were  placed  under  a  guard  of  Prussian  sen- 
tinels. 

Such  was  the  end  of  the  corps  of  generals  Chla- 


♦ 


378  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

powski  and  Gielgud,  composed  of  our  best  troops, 
and  which  had  performed  such  feats  of  valor  in 
so  many  battles.  Those  brave  soldiers  were  led, 
against  their  w^ill,  into  the  territory  of  a  foreign 
nation,  to  seek  a  protection  of  which  they  them- 
selves had  not  even  dreamed. 

This  step,  which  every  historian  of  our  revolu- 
tion will  record  with  horror,  when  it  was  seen  how 
totally  without  justification  it  was,  awakened  the 
disgust  and  indignation  of  all.  The  part  of  the 
corps  of  general  Chlapowski  which  was  already  in 
the  Prussian  territory,  when  they  saw  the  corps  of 
general  Rohland,  which  they  had  been  made  to 
believe  was  destroyed,  continuing  its  march  in  an 
entire  state,  and  even  with  nearly  200  Russian 
prisoners  in  its  train,  and  hearing  too  the  animating 
shouts  which  naturally  burst  from  their  comrades, 
as  they  came  in  view  of  them,  and  who  called  on 
them  to  rejoin  them,  fell  into  a  state  of  the  utmost 
exasperation.  A  great  number  rushed  forward, 
and,  breaking  through  the  Prussian  guard,  unarmed 
as  they  were,  reached  our  side  of  the  frontier. 
The  brave  commander  of  the  light  artillery,  who 
was  already  on  the  Prussian  territory  with  his  bat- 
tery, profiting  by  the  circumstance  that  his  horses 
were  not  yet  unharnessed,  returned,  and  joined  our 
corps,  with  five  pieces  of  cannon.  Both  officers 
and  soldiers  surrounded  general  Gielgud,  and  loudly 
demanded  some  explanation  of  this  state  of  things. 
That  general  betrayed  the  utmost  confusion,  and 
seemed  wholly  at  a  loss  to  satisfy  these  demands ; 


THE  POLISH   REVOLUTION.  379 

his  manner,  indeed,  was  such  as  to  encourage  the 
suspicions  of  treason,  which  his  previous  conduct 
had  but  too  well  justified.  At  this  moment,  one 
of  his  officers,  in  a  frenzy  of  patriotic  indignation, 
advanced  towards  him,  drew  a  pistol  from  his  side, 
and  exclaiming,  '  This  is  the  reward  of  a  traitor,' 
shot  him  through  the  heart.  After  this  sad  event, 
general  Chlapowski  was. sought  after,  and  the  same 
fate  would  have  probably  awaited  him,  had  he  not 
succeeded  in  concealing  himself.  A  scene  of  great 
confusion  then  took  place  throughout  the  corps. 
General  Rohland  and  the  other  officers  exerted 
themselves  to  tranquillize  the  soldiers,  reminding 
them  that  our  situation  was  critical,  and  that  the 
Russians  were  pressing  upon  us.  These  appeals' 
had  the  effect  of  restoring  quiet ;  and  at  about  4 
o'clock  the  corps  of  general  Rohland,  joined  by  a 
part  of  that  of  Chlapowski,  took  up  the  march  in 
the  direction  of  Yurburg,  in  order  to  pass  the  Nie- 
men  there,  and  attempt  to  reach  Poland.  At  night, 
we  arrived  at  Wierzbna.  After  having  marched 
four  miles  from  the  spot  where  the  Prussian  fron- 
tier was  passed  by  general  Chlapowski,  we  were 
met  by  an  aid-de-camp  of  general  Kreutz,  sent 
with  a  flag  of  truce,  and  bearing  a  letter  to. general 
Rohland,  which  was  read  aloud,  containing  propo- 
sitions to  surrender,  and  setting  forth  the  circum- 
stances under  which  we  were  placed.  In  declining 
the  proposition,  general  Rohland,  among  other  ex- 
pressions, used  the  following :  *  The  strength  of 
your  forces  is  well  known  to  us  ;    we  have  seen 


380  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

them  at  Powenduny  and  Worna.  If  Providence 
protected  us  there,  it  will  still  protect  us  ;'  and 
turning  towards  the  officers  of  his  suite,  he  added, 
*  Gentlemen,  look  on  my  grey  hairs !  they  have 
become  blanched  in  a  service  of  thirty  years  under 
the  Polish  eagles,  and  during  that  whole  period  I 
have  endeavored  to  keep  the  path  of  honor  and 
duty.  Permit  me  in  my.  old  age  to  continue  in 
that  path.'  The  answer  having  been  communicat- 
ed to  the  corps,  the  cry  of  '  Long  life  to  Rohland,' 
burst  forth  on  every  side.  The  aid-de-camp  de- 
parted, and  we  continued  our  route. 

Having  passed  the  night  at  Wierzbna,  we  arrived 
on  the  noon  of  the  next  day  (the  14th,)  at  Nowe- 
Miasto,  at  which  place  we  put  to  flight  a  squadron 
of  Russian  cavalry  posted  there.  Before  reaching 
that  town,  and  at  the  distance  of  about  a  half  league 
from  it,  our  cavalry  had  a  small  skirmish  with  four 
squadrons  of  the  Russian  light  cavalry.  This  cav- 
alry fell  upon  a  small  detachment  of  our  sappers, 
which  had  been  detailed  for  the  object  of  destroy- 
ing a  bridge  upon  a  branch  of  the  main  road,  at  the 
distance  of  about  a  mile  from  it.  The  sappers,  in 
withdrawing,  kept  up  a  fire,  and  thus  drew  the 
enemy  on,  till  our  cavalry  falling  upon  them,  dis- 
persed them,  causing  a  considerable  loss,  and  tak- 
ing several  prisoners.^ 

*  In  this  affair  major  the  prince  Giedroyc  distinguished 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  the  6th  chasseurs,  and 
killed  with  his  own  hand  the  commander  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry,  an  officer  of  the  rank  of  general. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  381 

On  arriving  at  Novs^e-Miasto,  our  commander 
sent  a  reconnoitering  party  in  the  direction  of  Yur- 
burg,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  any  of  the  enemy's 
forces  were  there,  and  considering  the  strong  posi- 
tion of  Nowe-Miasto,  he  decided  to  remain  there, 
and  to  await  the  result  of  this  reconnoissance. 
Our  forces  were  placed  in  order  of  battle,  to  await 
the  enemy,  in  case  he  should  choose  to  make  an 
attack.  Remaining  for  two  hours  in  this  position, 
we  were  astonished  that  the  enemy  did  not  show 
himself ;  and  a  platoon  of  cavalry,  sent  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  enemy  to  observe  him,  returned  with 
the  intelligence  that  he  was  encamped  at  the  dis- 
tance of  two  miles  from  us. 

Four  hours  had  thus  passed,  when  the  arrival  of 
a  Prussian  officer  upon  the  frontier  was  announced, 
who  requested  an  interview  with  our  general. 
General  Rohland,  accompanied  with  a  party  of  offi- 
cers, went  to  receive  him.  The  Prussian  officer 
was  an  aid-de-camp  of  the  commandant  general  of 
the  forces  on  this  part  of  the  frontier,  (general 
Kraft,  we  believe).  The  officer,  after  some  com- 
plimentary language,  presented  a  letter  from  his 
commander,  which  was  filled  with  expressions  of 
respect  and  good  will,  and  in  which  it  was  pro- 
posed that,  in  consideration  of  our  position,  sur- 
rounded as  we  were  by  a  force  so  much  superior 
to  our  own,  and  in  a  state  of  destitution  in  respect 
to  arms  and  ammunition,  we  should  accept  the  offer 
which  the  Prussian  government  had  authorized  him 
to  make,  in  order  to  save  the  useless  effusion  of  the 

48 


382  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

blood  of  SO  many  brave  men,  and  throw  ourselves 
upon  the  protection  of  its  territory,  w^here  we  would 
be  convinced  of  the  cordial  disposition  of  that  gov- 
ernment towards  us, — adding,  that  our  sojourn  there 
would  be  short,  and  that  we  should  soon  be  allowed 
to  return  to  our  firesides,  as  was  the  case  with  the 
Russian  soldiers  who  had  sought  the  same  protec- 
tion. We  have  already  mentioned  that  several 
detachments  of  Russian  soldiers,  who  had  before 
sought  the  protection  of  Prussia,  had  been  allowed 
to  return  with  their  arms  and  ammunition.  Our 
generals,  on  being  thus  apprised  of  the  liberal  in- 
tentions of  the  Prussian  government,  which  were 
confirmed  by  the  personal  representations  of  the 
officer  who  brought  the  letter,  —  reflecting  on  the 
deplorable  state  of  our  soldiers,  fatigued  and  weak- 
ened by  so  many  forced  marches ;  the  greater  part 
of  the  infantry  being  without  covering  to  their  feet, 
which  were  lacerated  with  wounds  ;  the  greater 
part  of  the  cavalry,  almost  without  horses,  (for 
their  animals  were  so  broken  down,  and  chafed  by 
unremitted  use,  as  to  be  unfit  for  service  ;)  both 
artillery  and  infantry  nearly  destitute  of  ammuni- 
tion, a  great  quantity  of  which  had  been  thrown- 
into  the  river  by  the  orders  of  generals  Gielgud 
and  Chlapowski,  on  passing  the  frontier; — consid- 
ering also  the  assurance  which  had  been  made  that 
we  could  return  to  our  country,  and  hoping  there- 
fore to  be  able  to  renew  their  services  to  that  coun- 
try at  some  more  favorable  period,  —  presented  these 
circumstances  to  the  whole  corps,  and  solicited  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  383 

opinion  of  the  soldiers  upon  the  question  of  acced- 
ing to  the  propositions  of  the  Prussian  government. 
The  soldiers,  manifesting  their  entire  confidence  in 
the  judgment  and  the  honor  of  their  officers,  signi- 
fied their  assent  to  the  acceptance  of  the  proposi- 
tions, influenced  strongly  by  the  assurance  of  being 
allowed  to  return  to  their  country.  In  consequence 
of  this  assent,  a  protocol  was  prepared  that  night, 
and  signed  by  our  generals,  and  by  several  Prus- 
sian officers  on  the  other  part,  who  came  over  for 
that  object.  On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  we 
passed  the  frontier  and  marched  into  the  Prussian 
territory,  and  by  that  act  the  operations  of  the 
Lithuanian  corps  were  ended. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

Effect  of  the  news  of  the  Lithuanian  disasters  on  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple.— Distrust  of  the  National  Government. — The  Russian  army  re- 
sumes the  offensive  under  general  Paszkewicz. — He  decides  to  pass 
the  Vistula. — Examination  of  the  merits  of  this  plan. — Plan  of  gen- 
eral Skrzynecki  to  act  on  the  different  detached  corps  of  the  enemy. — 
Advantages  of  general  Chrzanowski  over  the  corps  of  Rudiger. — The 
Russian  forces  execute  the  passage  of  the  Vistula. — General  Skrzy- 
necki crosses  the  Vistula  at  Warsaw  to  operate  against  the  enemy  on 
the  left  bank. — An  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  general  Skrzynecki, 
and  the  appointment  of  a  Council  of  War  is  demanded  by  the  nation. 
— Arrival  of  the  corps  of  general  Dembinski  at  Warsaw. 

While  the  nation  was  afflicted  by  the  treasons  at 
Warsaw,  their  hopes  had  been  still  kept  alive  by 
looking  towards  Lithuania.  What,  then,  can  ex- 
press the  disheartening  effect  produced  by  the  in- 
telligence that  the  Lithuanian  corps  existed  no 
longer  ;  —  that  that  pillar,  so  essential  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  fabric  we  had  been  rearing,  had  fallen  ; 
and  that  this  disaster  had  been  brought  on  by  the 
gross  negligence,  if  not  the  treason,  of  those  to 
whom  that  all-important  expedition  had  been  en- 
trusted. They  felt  that  this  was  an  almost  mor- 
tal blow.  They  saw  a  horrible  future  opening 
upon  them,  prepared  by  parricidal  hands.  After 
such  renewed  outrages,  the  people  fell  into  the 
greatest  exasperation.  That  people,  whose  confi- 
dence had  been  so  basely  abused,  whose  holiest 
purposes  had  been  so  shamelessly  sported  with, 
seemed  at  last  to  have  changed  their  nature.  So 
often  betrayed,  they  lost  confidence  in  all,  and 
seemed  to  see  in  every  one  a  traitor.     If,  in  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  386 

frenzy  of  indignation,  which  such  an  experience 
had  justified,  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  carried 
away  by  their  feelings,  and  to  be  guilty  of  acts  of 
severity,  it  can  scarcely  be  wondered  at. 

Immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  sad  new^s 
from  Lithuania,  the  nation  demanded  explanations 
of  the  generalissimo.  They  demanded  to  know 
how  he  could  have  given  the  command  of  so  im- 
portant an  expedition  to  a  man  like  Gielgud,  one 
who  had  never  been  esteemed  by  the  nation  or  the 
army,  and  who  had  not  even  the  reputation  of  a 
general  of  talent.  How  could  an  expedition  which 
demanded  the  very  highest  talents,  and  the  most 
undoubted  patriotism,  have  been  confided  to  a  man 
like  him  ?  With  him  had  been  associated  general 
Chlapowski,  who  was  the  brother-in-law  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantine.  That  circumstance 
alone,  they  justly  considered,  should  have  been 
enough  to  suggest  suspicion,  and  to  have  at  least 
indicated  the  expediency  of  keeping  him  near  the 
eye  of  the  commander  in  chief,  and  subject  to  his 
constant  observation.  Such  were  the  complaints 
of  the  people,  and  they  went  to  the  heart  of  the 
commander  in  chief,  and  the  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Government ;  for  they  were  conscious,  but 
too  late,  of  their  justice.* 

*  A  few  details  of  the  history  of  the  two  generals  who 
were  the  cause  of  these  fatal  disasters,  may  gratify  the  curi- 
osity of  the  reader.  General  Gielgud  was  born  in  Lithu- 
ania, at  Gielgudyszki,  (the  place  at  which  he  crossed  the 
Niemen  in  1831).     Passing  over  his  early  life,  which  pre- 


386  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

The  Russian  army,  the  command  of  which,  on 
the  death  of  general  Diebitsch,  was  taken  by  gen- 

sents  nothing  noticeable,  he  commenced  his  military  career 
in  1812,  when  Napoleon  entered  Lithuania.  In  a  moment 
of  patriotic  fervor,  he  formed  a  small  detachment  at  his  own 
expense,  and  joined  the  ranks  of  the  supposed  deliverer  of 
Poland  ;  and  this  perhaps  was  the  most  praise-worthy  act 
of  his  life.  During  the  campaign  of  1812,  18,  and  14,  he 
was  in  no  way  distinguished  either  for  good  or  bad  conduct. 
At  the  end  of  the  Russian  campaign,  in  1815,  he  was  made 
colonel.  As  during  that  year,  Poland  came  under  the  Rus- 
sian government,  our  army  was  subjected  to  a  change  of 
organization,  and  a§  many  officers  of  high  rank,  who  were 
in  independent  circumstances,  gave  up  their  commands, 
Gielgud  then  obtained  the  rank  of  general,  at  about  the  age 
of  thirty.  This  rapid  advancement,  as  was  natural  to  a  man 
of  weak  character,  inspired  him  with  an  extreme  of  arro- 
gance and  pretension  ;  qualities  which  were  encouraged  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  Russian  generals,  with  whom  he  was 
much  associated.  It  was  this  arrogance  which  uniformly 
lost  him  the  esteem  of  those  under  his  command. 

When  the  revolution  broke  out,  general  Gielgud  was  at 
the  town  of  Radom,  and  his  life  was  in  great  danger  from 
the  suspicions  of  which  he  was  naturally  the  object,  but  he 
was  protected  by  some  of  the  patriots,  on  the  assurances 
which  he  gave  of  his  patriotic  dispositions.  Still,  however, 
the  military  demanded  his  removal  from  his  post,  and,  in 
fact,  for  some  weeks  he  was  without  command.  The  dic- 
tator, Chlopicki,  whose  modes  of  action  were,  as  the  reader 
knows,  too  often  inexplicable,  restored  him  to  his  command, 
persuading  himself  that  he  was  one  of  the  best  of  patriots, 
and  that  if  his  exterior  was  offensive,  he  was  right  at  heart. 
In  the  war,  —  having  first  commanded  a  brigade,  and  after- 
wards a  division,  —  while  he  was  attached  to  the  grand  army, 
his  conduct  was  not  marked  by  any  very  great  faults;  indeed, 
in  the  battle  of  Minsk  he  performed  his  part  well.  It  was 
such  occasional  exhibitions  of  good  conduct  which  kept  him 
in  some  consideration. 

After  having  taken  command  of  the  corps  of  Lithuania,  and 
when  he  was  removed  from  the  observation  of  the  army,  he 
exhibited  himself  in  his  true  character.     He  was  giddy  with 


THE    POLISH   REVOLUTION.  387 

eral  count  Paszkewicz,  and  the  main  body  of  which 
remained  in   a  state    of   inaction   at  Ostrolenka, 

the  distinction,  and  feeling  himself  the  absolute  master  of 
his  own  conduct,  he  gave  himself  up  to  all  the  suggestions 
of  his  vanity. 

His  first  act  of  folly  was  to  surround  himself  with  a  nu- 
merous suite,  (it  was  in  number  four  times  that  of  the  com- 
mander in  chief,)  in  which  suite  those  individuals  were  held 
in  greatest  esteem,  who  were  most  fertile  in  resources  for 
amusement.  It  was  to  this  love  of  personal  gratification 
that  we  can  attribute  those  delays  which  were  sacrificing  the 
cause  of  the  country.  At  Gielgudyszki  the  general  gave  a 
fHe  to  his  officers ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  it  was  a  mo- 
tive of  mere  personal  ostentation  which  induced  him  to  make 
the  passage  of  the  Niemen,  at  that  place,  by  which  two  days' 
march  were  given  to  the  retreating  enemy,  time  was  allowed 
him  to  concentrate  his  forces  in  Wilno,  and  that  capital  was 
lost  to  us  ! 

This  general  was  never  seen  to  share  the  privations,  fa- 
tigues, and  exposure  of  his  subalterns.  In  his  personal  de- 
portment he  neglected  the  true  means  of  gaining  the  confi- 
dence and  attachment  of  his  troops.  On  the  eve  of  a  battle, 
in  moments  of  danger  and  anxiety,  it  is  cheering  to  the  sol- 
dier to  see  the  face  of  his  commander,  and  to  hear  from  him 
a  few  words  of  encouragement.  These  are  apparent  trifles, 
but  they  are  in  reality  of  most  serious  consequence.  They 
are  the  secret  keys  by  which  every  thing  can  be  obtained 
from  the  soldier.  The  personal  attachment  of  the  soldier  to 
his  commander,  is  worth  more  than  the  finest  combinations 
in  strategy  and  tactics.  The  commander,  who  succeeds  in 
gaining  the  affection  of  the  soldier,  inspires  him  with  a  new 
impulse  for  exertion.  To  his  other  motives  is  added  the 
dread  of  forfeiting  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  a  friend  ; 
and  perhaps,  with  the  mass  of  an  army,  such  a  motive  would 
yield  to  no  other  in  efficiency.  To  the  modes  of  conduct 
which  would  have  secured  this  result,  general  Gielgud  was 
an  entire  stranger.  Instead  of  freely  approaching  the  sol- 
dier and  endeavoring  to  gain  his  attachment,  he  treated  him 
with  uniform  coldness  and  reserve.  It  is  on  the  whole  a 
matter  of  just  surprise,  that  a  man  with  such  glaring  faults 
of  character  should  have  been  appointed  to  so  responsible  a 
trust. 

General  Chlapowski  commenced  his  military  career  also 
in  1812.     In  the  Russian  war  he  advanced  to  the  rank  of 


388  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

having  no  longer  any  apprehensions  from  Lithu- 
ania, could  now  act  with  freedom,  and  the  offen- 
sive was  recommenced  under  the  command  of  its 
new  chief,  who  decided  to  pass  the  Vistula,  and  to 
act  upon  the  left  bank. 

officer,  and  was  made  aid-de  camp  of  prince  Poniatowski. 
While  in  this  situation  he  advanced  to  the  rank  of  a  staff 
officer,  in  which  rank  he  left  the  army  in  1815,  and  retired 
to  his  estates  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Pozen,  where  he  mar- 
ried the  sister  of  the  princess  of  Lowicz,  the  wife  of  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantine.  The  entrance  of  this  general 
into  the  revolutionary  ranks  excited  considerable  surprise. 
But  as  he  joined  himself  to  the  squadrons  of  Pozen,  which 
were  formed  of  the  bravest  and  most  patriotic  materials, 
there  was  no  distrust  felt  of  him.  His  successes  in  travers- 
ing the  department  of  Bialystok,  entitled  him  to  the  highest 
praise.  It  was  this  fine  expedition  which  gained  him  the  con- 
fidence of  the  Lithuanian  corps,  and  after  the  battle  of  Wilno, 
they  were  unanimous  in  inviting  him  to  take  the  chief  com- 
mand. The  nominal  command,  as  we  have  related,  he  de- 
clined, but  took  a  post  which  gave  him  the  superintendence 
of  all  the  operations.  While  he  was  thus  in  the  direction  of 
affairs,  the  greatest  faults,  as  we  have  seen,  were  committed, 
for  which  no  adequate  explanation  can  be  given.  We  will 
recapitulate  some  of  them.  —  They  were,  1.  The  sending  of 
the  sappers  to  build  the  bridge  over  the  Niemen.  2.  The 
ill-arranged  attack  on  Szawla.  3.  His  not  succoring  gen- 
eral Rohland  in  the  combat  of  Powenduny.  4.  The  inex- 
plicable secrecy  which  he  kept  upon  his  intention  of  passing 
the  Prussian  frontier  ;  having  left  Kurszany  for  that  object, 
whilst  all  his  officers  were  given  to  understand  that  the  se- 
paration of  the  corps  at  that  place  was  with  the  view  of 
marching  to  act  in  the  environs  of  Kowno.  These  are 
points  upon  which  this  officer  has  yet  to  answer  at  the  bar 
of  his  country.  Chlapowski  was  a  more  dangerous  person 
even  than  Gielgud,  for  Gielgud  was  a  man  of  such  undis- 
guised arrogance,  that  he  repelled  the  confidence  of  others  ; 
but  Chlapowski,  with  all  the  faults  of  Gielgud,  had  an  exte- 
rior of  dissimulation  which  won  insensibly  upon  those  who 
had  not  thoroughly  studied  his  character.  But  none  who 
had  observed  and  known  him  well,  could  ever  yield  him  their 
esteem. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  389 

I  may  be  allowed  to  detain  the  attention  of  the 
reader  a  moment  upon  this  passage  of  the  Vistula 
by  Paszkewicz,  a  manoeuvre  of  which  so  much  boast 
has  been  made,  and  to  consider  whether  it  is  really 
to  be  regarded  as  a  great  and  bold  step,  or  one  of 
necessity.  What  was  the  state  of  the  Russian 
army  after  the  battle  of  Ostrolenka  ?  —  A  month 
had  passed,  and  that  army  had  not  made  a  single 
movement,  but  was  kept  there  merely  to  be  fed  by 
Prussia.  Was  not  this  inactivity  an  infallible 
evidence  of  weakness  ?  Does  it  not  show  that, 
alarmed  by  the  prospects  in  Lithuania,  it  was  in  a 
state  of  hesitation,  not  daring  to  advance  into  the 
kingdom,  and  holding  itself  in  readiness  to  evacu- 
ate it  on  an  occasion  of  necessity,  which  indeed 
seemed  near  at  hand  ?  In  this  period  of  hesitation, 
the  new  general  arrives  from  the  regions  of  the 
Caucasus.  He  must  do  something.  The  question 
presents  itself  to  him,  —  what  course  is  best  to  be 
taken  ?  His  army,  now  reinforced  by  the  corps 
which  had  been  in  Lithuania,  amounted  to  perhaps 
near  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  Al- 
though this  force  was  considerable,  yet  to  attack 
the  fortifications  of  Praga,  which,  as  is  known  to  the 
reader,  had  been  augmented,  and  which  the  Rus- 
sian army  in  their  primitive  and  unimpaired  strength 
had  never  had  the  temerity  to  attack,  was  out  of 
the  question.  What  other  course  could  he  take, 
unless  he  could  submit  to  continue  in  this  state  of 
inactivity,  but  to  pass  the  Vistula,  and  under  the 
assistance  of  Prussia,  to  make  his  attempts  against 
49 


390  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

Warsaw  on  the  other  side,  a  step,  however,  which 
he  never  would  have  dared  to  have  taken  without 
that  assistance.  This  is  the  natural  explanation 
of  that  boasted  plan,  in  which  we  can  see  nothing 
but  an  aln^ost  necessary  movement,  encouraged  by 
a  reliance  on  Prussia. 

In  the  first  days  of  the  month  of  June  the  Rus- 
sian army  began  to  approach  the  Vistula,  in  order 
to  execute  the  passage.  Their  march  was  in  three 
principal  columns,  and  was  arranged  in  the  follow- 
ing manner  :  —  general  Witt,  commanding  the  col- 
umns of  the  left  wing,  took  the  direction  of  So- 
choczyn.  The  centre,  under  marshal  Paszkewicz, 
left  for  Sonk  and  Luberacz,  passing  the  river 
Wkra  at  Maluszyn.  The  column  of  the  right, 
consisting;  of  the  imperial  guard,  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  grand  duke  Michael,  marched  from 
Makow,  by  Ciechanow  and  Racionz.  General 
Pahlen  commanded  the  advanced  guard.  A  con- 
siderable train  of  ammunition,  with  provisions  for 
twenty  days,  and  a  park  of  artillery  of  reserve, 
formed  the  fourth  column,  and  followed  the 
imperial  guard.  Detached  posts  towards  Modlin 
and  Serock,  covered  this  march  on  the  left.  One 
regiment  of  dragoons  remained  at  Pultusk.  This 
combined  force  consisted  of  80,000  men  and  three 
hundred  pieces  of  cannon.  Besides  these  forces, 
there  were  in  the  kingdom,  the  corps  of  general 
Rudiger  at  Kaluszyn,  and  that  of  general  Rott  at 
Zamosc.  Those  two  Corps  might  now  number 
about  20,000  men,  and  some  thirty  pieces  of  can- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  391 

non.  Opposed  to  these  forces,  we  had  an  army  of 
40,000  men,  a  hundred  and  twenty  pieces  of  can- 
non, not  counting  the  national  guard  of  Warsaw, 
and  the  garrisons  of  the  two  fortresses  of  Modlin 
and  Zamosc. 

The  plan  of  our  generalissimo  was  to  throw 
himself  upon  the  detached  corps  of  the  enemy, 
under  Rott  and  Rudiger,  and  afterwards  to  act 
upon  his  main  body.  For  this  end  an  attack  was 
ordered  upon  the  corps  of  Rudiger,  which  was 
beaten  in  the  environs  of  Minsk  by  the  corps  of 
general  Chrzanowski,  in  successive  actions,  on  the 
14th,  15th,  and  16th  of  July.  A  third  part  of  his 
corps  being  destroyed,  a  thousand  prisoners,  four 
pieces  of  cannon  and  all  his  baggage  taken,  he 
was  forced  to  retire  behind  Kaluszyn.  After  these 
new  advantages,  the  general  in  chief  prepared  to 
act  upon  the  rear  of  the  Russian  main  army,  and 
to  attack  them  while  engaged  in  the  passage  of  the 
Vistula,  which  he  supposed  they  would  attempt 
either  at  Plock,  or  between  Plock  and  Modlin. 
But  as  he  was  afterwards  apprized  that  the  Rus- 
sians were  to  attempt  the  passage  at  a  much  more 
distant  point  from  Warsaw,  and  beyond  his  reach 
w^hile  on  the  right  bank,  he  thought  it  most  expe- 
dient to  pass  the  Vistula  at  Warsaw,  and  to  oper- 
ate against  the  enemy  on  the  other  side.  The 
Russian  army  thus  passed  the  Vistula  without 
being  intercepted,  between  the  12th  and  the  20th 
of  July.  Having  reached  the  left  bank,  the  ene- 
my took  the  direction  of  Lowicz,  where,  on  the 


392  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

27th,  the  head-quarters  of  general  Paszkewicz 
were  established,  and  whither  our  armj  marched  to 
meet  him. 

At  this  important  moment,  when  the  operations 
of  the  enemj  had  taken  a  new  face,  and  seemed, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  by  his  near  approach  to 
Warsaw,  to  menace  the  utmost  danger — made 
more  threatening  in  their  imaginations  by  the  re- 
cent discovery  of  the  conspiracy  of  Jankowski  and 
the  news  of  the  misfortunes  in  Lithuania ; — at  this 
anxious  moment,  the  nation  demanded  a  council 
of  war,  and  called  on  the  National  Government  to 
make  an  inquisition  into  the  conduct  of  the  general 
in  chief,  to  demand  of  him  full  explanations  of  his 
purposes,  and  a  submission  of  all  his  plans  of 
operation  to  the  examination  of  such  a  council. 
Such  a  council  of  war  was  instituted  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  directed  to  be  attached  to  the  person 
of  the  general,  and  to  be  initiated  into  all  his  de- 
signs, in  order  to  be  enabled  to  tranquillize  and 
re-assure  the  minds  of  the  nation,  which  had  so 
naturally  become  distrustful  and  suspicious,  after 
the  events  which  had  taken  place. 

The  council  having  been  organized,  and  having 
taken  an  oath  of  secrecy,  general  Skrzynecki  laid 
before  them  all  the  plans  of  operation  that  he  had 
hitherto  followed,  as  well  as  those  which  he  had 
in  contemplation,  and  gave  a  full  exposition  of  the 
reasons  for  each.  This  council  then  published  to 
the  nation  an  address,  announcing  their  entire  con- 
fidence in  the  patriotic  intentions  of  the  general 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  393 

in  chief,  and  assuring  them  that  the  crisis  was  by 
no  means  as  dangerous  as  they  apprehended.  By 
these  proceedings  the  minds  of  the  people  were 
much  tranquillized,  and  this  tranquillity  was  in- 
creased by  the  arrival  of  the  corps  of  general  Dem- 
binski  from  Lithuania  afte;*  its  glorious  retreat; 
which  arrival  not  only  cheered  them  by  the  addi- 
tion which  it  brought  to  our  forces,  but  by  the 
more  encouraging  accounts  than  had  before  been 
received,  which  it  gave  of  the  state  of  Lithuania, 
authorizing  some  hope  of  a  renewal  of  the  insur- 
rection in  that  province  at  a  more  propitious  hour. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Operations  of  general  Dembinski's  corps. — He  traverses  the  country  be- 
tween Szawla  and  the  Niemen  without  being  observed  by  the  enemy. 
— Attacks  and  disperses  a  brigade  of  Russian  infantry. — Passes  the 
Niemen  and  throws  himself  into  the  forest  of  Bialystok. — After  leaving 
that  forest,  is  joined  hy  the  corps  of  general  Rozycki. — Reaches  War- 
saw.— His  reception  at  Warsaw. —  View  of  the  exposed  situation  of 
Paszkewicz  after  his  passage  of  the  Vistula. — Examination  of  the  plan 
of  operations  of  the  Polish  commander. — Morbid  state  of  the  public 
mind  at  Warsaw. — Skrzynecki  and  Czartoriski  deprived  of  their  trust. 
— Capture  of  the  city. — Documents  showing  the  influence  exercised 
by  the  cabinets  in  discouraging  active  operations. — Conclusion. 

The  corps  of  general  Dembinski  had  been  more 
fortunate  than  those  of  Chlapowski  and  Rohland. 
That  general,  quitting  Kurszany  on  the  9th  of  July, 
returned,  in  obedience  to  the  orders  which  we  have 
detailed,  by  means  of  the  forests,  to  the  environs 
of  Szawla,  leaving  the  enemy  upon  the  right,  and 
without  being  observed  by  him  ;  —  he  having  ad- 
vanced with  his  whole  force  in  the  direction  of 
Worna,  under  the  belief  that  our  undivided  forces 
were  in  that  position.  This  corps  traversed  the 
country  between  Szawla  and  Rosseyny,  and  ar- 
rived during  the  night  of  the  15th  at  Janow,  where 
they  dispersed  a  squadron  of  the  enemy's  cavalry 
and  took  fifty  prisoners,  and  passed  there  the  river 
Wiliia  without  interruption.  From  thence  they 
left  for  the  environs  of  Kowno,  where,  not  far  from 
Rumszyski,  on  the  16th,  they  met  a  brigade  of 
Russian  infantry  which  was  on  the  march  from 
Wilno  to  the  frontier  of  Poland. 

General  Dembinski  attacked  this  brigade  with 
such  impetuosity,  that  they  were  thrown  into  the 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  395 

greatest  consternation.  Two  cannons  and  several 
prisoners  were  taken.  The  great  forests,  by  which 
the  Russians  were  able  to  effect  their  escape,  alone 
saved  this  brigade  from  entire  destruction.  Hav- 
ing thus  opened  their  road,  thej  took  the  direction 
of  the  town  of  Lida,  passing  the  Niemen  not  far 
from  that  place.  Afterwards  they  threw  them- 
selves into  the  forests  of  Bialystok,  and  in  these 
forests  the  corps  was  reinforced  by  a  considerable 
number  of  Lithuanian  insurgent  cavalry,  which  had 
been  acting  with  great  advantages  over  the  enemy, 
by  cutting  off  his  transports  of  ammunition  and 
other  modes  of  harassing  him,  during  the  whole  of 
our  campaign.  This  force  was  under  the  command 
of  colonel  B*^*.  General  Dembinski  quitted  the 
forests  in  the  environs  of  Orla,  and  leaving  the 
town  of  Bielsk  on  his  right,  passed  through  the 
town  of  Bocki,  near  which  he  surprised  and  dis- 
persed a  regiment  of  cossacks,  and  took  several 
prisoners,  and  among  them  a  number  of  officers. 
In  the  environs  of  Siemiatycze,  where  the  corps 
arrived  on  the  20th  of  June,  they  were  arrested  by 
the  sudden  appearance  of  a  large  body  of  troops. 
General  Dembinski  halted  and  placed  his  forces  in 
order  of  battle,  sending  his  flankers  in  advance. 
On  the  other  side  the  same  movement  was  made. 
The  flanking  parties  of  the  opposite  forces  ap- 
proached each  other,  but  what  was  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  two  corps  at  seeing  the  tirailleurs,  in 
place  of  firing  upon  each  other,  rushing  into  each 
other's  arms,  and  rending  the  air  with  patriotic 


396  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

exclamations.  The  corps  which  was  thus  met  by 
that  of  general  Dembinski,  was  the  corps  of  gen- 
eral Rozycki,  which  had  been  sent  from  our  grand 
army  to  reinforce  the  corps  of  general  Gielgud. 
The  reader  will  now  call  to  mind  the  plan  of  ope- 
rations proposed  by  colonel  Valentin  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Wilno  ;  and  the  arrival  of  this  reinforcement 
at  the  very  spot  which  was  to  have  been  the  point 
of  concentration  aggravates  the  regret  that  his 
plans  were  not  adopted.  Nothing  could  exceed 
the  satisfaction  of  the  two  corps  at  thus  meeting. 
General  Rozycki,  learning  the  disastrous  circum- 
stances which  had  occurred,  changed  his  plan  of 
operation,  and  decided  to  unite  himself  with  the 
corps  of  general  Dembinski,  and  to  return  with  it 
to  the  grand  army.  The  junction  of  these  two 
corps  had  scarcely  taken  place,  when  a  cloud  of 
dust,  in  the  direction  of  Bielsk,  announced  the 
march  of  another  body  of  troops.  A  small  recon- 
noissance,  sent  in  that  direction,  returned  with  the 
intelligence  that  it  was  the  Russian  corps  under 
Golowkin.  Our  generals,  considering  all  circum- 
stances, determined  not  lo  engage  with  them,  and 
continued  their  march  towards  Poland,  passing  at 
night  the  river  Bug.  They  then  took  the  direction 
of  Wengrow  and  Kaluszyn,  and  by  that  route  ar- 
rived at  Warsaw,  toward  the  end  of  the  month  of 
July. 

The  corps  of  general  Dembinski,  which  had 
traversed  more  than  four  hundred  miles  in  about 
twenty  days  from  its  departure  from  Kurszany,  in 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  '  39? 

the  midst  of  detachments  of  the  enemy,  was  re- 
ceived by  the  nation  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 
The  president  of  the  senate,  prince  Adam  Czar- 
toriski,  the  generalissimo  Skrzynecki,  with  all  the 
officers  of  government,  followed  by  an  immense 
body  of  citizens,  met  him  at  the  distance  of  a  half 
league  from  the  city ;  and  he  was  greeted  with  an 
address  expressive  of  the  thanks  of  the  nation  for 
his  courageous  and  persevering  exertions.  It  end- 
ed in  the  following  terms  :  —  '  Dear  general,  and 
brethren  in  arms,  you  will  be  a  living  reproach  to 
those  who,  forgetting  their  sacred  duties,  have,  by 
their  misconduct,  forced  their  countrymen  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  and  seek  the  protection  of  another 
nation.' 

To  commemorate  the  brave  exertions  of  this 
corps,  and  to  transmit  these  events  to  posterity, 
the  address  above  referred  to  was  ordered  to  be 
enregistered  in  the  volumes  of  the  public  laws.  A 
printed  copy  was  also  given  to  each  soldier  of  the 
corps.  At  the  same  time  a  commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  generals 
Gielgud  and  Chlapowski. 

When  we  consider  the  manner  in  which  the  Rus- 
sian army,  after  their  passage  of  the  Vistula,  pass- 
ed the  interval  between  the  27th  of  July,  (the  day 
of  their  arrival  at  Lowicz)  and  the  15th  of  August, 
we   shall  be  at  a  loss  to  account  for  their  inaction. 

If  general  Paszkewicz  was  in  a  condition  to  take 
Warsaw,  he  could  gain  nothing  by  this  repose. 
Nay,  every  moment  of  delay  might  increase  the 
50 


398  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

difficulties  he  would  have  to  overcome.  Why 
then  all  this  delay  ?  What  could  have  prevented 
us  from  reinforcing  our  ranks,  strengthening  the 
fortifications  of  Warsaw,  and  even  sending  another 
corps,  however  small,  into  Lithuania,  to  support  a 
new  insurrection  ?  Such  a  corps  could  have  easily 
made  its  way  even  in  the  midst  of  the  Russian 
detached  corps  remaining  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Vistula,  and  indeed  those  corps,  so  imprudently 
left  there,  could  have  been  beaten  in  detail  by  our 
forces.  If  these  circumstances  are  well  considered, 
the  reader  will  be  satisfied  that  this  manoeuvre  of 
passing  the  Vistula,  though  in  appearance  so  threat- 
ening to  us,  was  in  reality  a  most  imprudent  step 
on  the  enemy's  part,  and  exposed  him  to  the  most 
imminent  danger.  Many  detailed  considerations 
might  be  given  upon  this  point,  but  as  they  would 
occupy  much  space,  and  would  withdraw  us  too  far 
from  the  purpose  of  this  narrative,  we  must  leave 
them  to  abler  pens.  The  general  view,  however, 
which  we  have  taken  of  the  position  of  the  enemy, 
will  be  enough  to  awaken  the  astonishment  of  the 
reader  that  the  event  of  the  contest  should  have 
arrived  so  suddenly  and  so  fatally  to  us.  We  are, 
therefore,  led  to  present  some  reflections  upon 
what  seems  to  us  to  have  been  the  true  causes  of 
the  disastrous  issue  of  the  struggle. 

We  may,  in  the  first  place,  be  permitted  to  re- 
mark that  the  removal  of  our  army  from  Warsaw 
to  Lowicz  to  meet  the  enemy  there,  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  a  fortunate  disposition.     By  it, 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  399 

some  twenty  days  were  spent  in  indecisive  ma- 
noeuvres against  a  superior  force.  If,  during  that 
interval,  in  place  of  marching  to  meet  the  enemy, 
the  army  had  been  concentrated  in  the  environs  of 
Warsaw,  and  employed  in  constructing  fortifica- 
tions upon  the  great  roads  leading  to  Warsaw,  from 
Blonie,  Nadarzyn,  Piaseczno,  and  Kalwaryia,  as  a 
first  line  of  defence,  and  in  strengthening  the  great 
fortifications  of  Warsaw :  —  then,  leaving  half  of 
our  force  to  defend  these  fortifications,  we  might 
have  crossed  the  Vistula  w  ith  the  other  half,  and 
acted  upon  all  the  detached  corps  of  the  enemy  on 
the  right  bank,  and  have,  besides,  intercepted  all 
the  reinforcements  for  the  main  army  of  Paszke- 
wicz.  Our  communications,  also,  with  the  pro- 
vinces, being  thus  opened,  and  their  territory  freed 
from  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  we  should  have 
again  been  enabled  to  avail  ourselves  of  their  co- 
operation. I  cannot  but  think  that  if  such  a  plan 
of  operation  had  been  adopted,  for  which,  in  fact, 
there  was  ample  time  in  the  interval  above  named, 
an  altogether  different  turn  would  have  been  given 
to  our  afiairs. 

If  the  objection  should  be  made  that  the  delay 
which  actually  occurred  could  not  have  been  rea- 
sonably anticipated,  and  that  Paszkewicz  might 
have  immediately  advanced  to  the  attack  of  War- 
saw^  still,  without  entering  for  the  present  into 
more  detailed  considerations  in  support  of  my  opin- 
ion, it  will  be  enough  to  answer,  that  if  twenty- 
four  hours  merely  were  to  be  had,  those  twenty- 


400  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

four  hours  should  have  been  employed  in  fortifica- 
tion rather  than  manoeuvring,  for  it  was  not  at 
Lowicz,  but  under  the  walls  of  Warsaw,  that  the 
enemy  were  to  be  fought.  As  it  was  at  Warsaw, 
then,  that  the  decisive  encounter  must  inevitably 
have  taken  place,  would  it  not  have  been  the  most 
judicious  course,  to  have  confined  our  operations  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula,  to  the  strengthening 
of  the  defences  of  Warsaw  ;  to  have  in  fact  adopted 
in  regard  to  the  enemy,  who  had  now  transferred 
his  strength  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Vistula,  the 
same  course  of  operations  which  we  had  hitherto 
pursued  against  him  while  he  was  in  occupation  of 
the  right ;  in  short,  to  have  made  of  Warsaw  an- 
other Praga.  Our  course  of  operations  should  in 
fact  have  been  just  reversed,  to  correspond  with 
the  change  which  the  enemy's  passage  of  the  Vis- 
tula had  made  in  our  relative  positions.  While  he 
was  on  the  right  bank,  the  region  on  the  left  of  the 
river  was  open  to  us,  and  there  were  our  resources^ 
but  now  that  he  was  acting  with  his  main  army  on 
the  left  bank,  it  should  have  been  our  aim,  by 
annihilating  his  detached  corps,  to  have  opened  to 
our  operations  the  whole  region  of  the  right,  which 
was  far  more  extensive  than  the  other,  and  which, 
besides,  had  the  advantage  to  us  of  being  contigu- 
ous to  the  insurrectionary  provinces.  In  case  of  an 
attack  on  Warsaw,  which  of  course  could  not  be  an 
affair  of  a  few  days  only,  that  part  of  our  forces 
operating  on  the  right  bank  could  be  withdrawn  in 
ample  season  to  present  our  whole  strength  to  the 
enemy  in  its  defence. 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  401 

Since  I  have  allowed  mjself  to  make  the  above 
remarks  in  regard  to  the  plans  of  the  general  in 
chief,  I  must  also  be  permitted  to  add  that,  at  that 
period  of  inquietude  and  distrust,  the  presence  of 
the  commander  in  chief  and  of  the  president  -of 
th^  National  Government,  at  "Warsaw,  was  of  the 
utmost  importance.  That  presence  was  continu- 
ally needed  to  act  on  the  minds  of  the  people,  to 
preserve  union  and  tranquillity,  and  to  discover  and 
brinoj  to  exemplary  punishment  the  traitors  who 
had  been  plotting  the  ruin  of  their  country  ;  in 
short,  to  encourage  the  patriotic  and  to  alarm  the 
treacherous.  If  those  two  individuals  so  deserv- 
edly beloved  and  honored  by  the  nation  had  been 
present,  we  doubt  whether  those  melancholy  scenes 
at  Warsaw,  on  the  14th,  loth,  and  16th  of  August, 
w^hen  some  forty  persons  w^ho  were  under  con- 
viction of  treason,  perished  by  the  hands  of  the 
people,  w^ould  ever  have  taken  place.  Revolting 
as  those  scenes  were,  we  must  yet  consider  whe- 
ther the  circumstances  of  the  moment  wdll  not 
afford  some  palliation  for  them.  Deserted  by  those 
who  had  been  the  objects  of  their  profoundest  at- 
tachment aiid  confidence,  haunted  by  the  recollec- 
tions of  the  terrible  disasters  which  had  been  in- 
curred, and  which  they  could  attribute  to  nothing 
short  of  treason,  —  seeing  twenty  days  again  sacri- 
ficed, during  which  the  Russian  corps  from  Lithu- 
ania were  permitted  to  pass  the  Vistula,  (that  of 
Kreutz  at  Plock,  and  that  of  Rudiger  at  Pulawy,) 
and  join  their  main  army;  in  fine,  seeing  this  im- 


402  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

mense  Russian  force  approaching  the  capital,  from 
which  perhaps  thej  were  expecting  a  repetition  of 
all  the  atrocities  of  Suwarow,  —  remenribering  the 
thousands  of  victims  which  these  traitors  had  al- 
ready sacrificed,  and  reflecting  on  the  thousands 
whom  they  had  plotted  to  sacrifice  ;  can  it  be  won- 
dered that,  in  those  moments  of  despair,  that  peo- 
ple should  have  yielded  to  their  impulses  of  indig- 
nation and  have  chosen  rather  to  sacrifice  at  once 
those  convicted  traitors,  than  permit  them  to  live, 
and  perhaps  be  the  instruments  of  the  vengeance 
of  the  conqueror.  Abandoned  thus  by  those  who 
should  have  been  near  to  tranquillize  them,  the 
people  took  that  justice  into  their  own  hands  which 
the  government  had  neglected  to  execute,  and  with 
their  suspicions  operated  upon  by  this  accumulation 
of  disasters,  they  went  to  the  degree  of  demanding 
the  removal  from  their  posts  of  prince  Czartoriski 
and  the  general  in  chief. 

Such  are,  I  think,  the  true  explanations  of  those 
acts,  so  serious  in  their  consequences,  and  which 
have  created  so  much  surprise.  The  removal  of 
Skrzynecki  from  the  chief  command  was  certainly 
one  of  the  most  deplorable  results  of  this  disordered 
state  of  the  minds  of  the  people  ;  —  for  who  could 
so  well  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  time  as  he, 
familiar  with  every  detail,  engaged  in  the  midst  of 
events,  and  possessing  the  entire  confidence  of  the 
army  ?  It  was  in  this  period  of  distrust  and  sus- 
picion that  the  Russian  army,  which  seemed  to 
have  been  waiting  only  for  such  a  moment,  receiv- 


THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION.  403 

ed  the  intelligence  from  some  traitors,  jet  undis- 
covered, within  the  walls  of  Warsaw,  that  the  time 
had  arrived  for  their  attack.  It  was  undoubtedly 
directed  by  such  intelligence,  that  they  made  their 
attack  on  Warsaw,  at  the  moment  when  the  great- 
er part  of  our  army  had  been  sent  by  its  new  com- 
mander, Prondzynski,  to  act  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Vistula  against  the  corps  of  Golowkin,  which 
was  menacing  Praga.  The  city  thus  defended  by 
the  national  guard  and  a  small  part  of  the  army 
alone,  and  distracted  by  the  divisions  which  Rus- 
sian intrigues  had  fomented,  fell,  after  a  bloody  de- 
fence,* and  the  fate  of  Poland  was  decided. 

We  have  stated  our  belief  that  the  fatal  events 
which  hastened  the  catastrophe  might  have  been 
prevented  by  the  mere  presence,  at  the  capital,  of 
the  heads  of  the  army  aiid  the  National  Govern- 
ment, at  those  trying  moments  which  brought  on 
that  disordered  state  of  the  public  mind.  Of  this 
error  we  cannot  readily  acquit  them,  upright  and 
patriotic  as  we  know  their  intentions  to  have  been. 
But  upon  the  other  point  —  that  mysterious  inac- 
tion of  our  forces,  for  so  considerable  a  period, 
there  is  an  important  light  thrown,  in  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  the  correspondence  of  the  prince 
Czartoriski  wdth  the  French  minister  of  the  Exte- 
rior, read  in  the  chamber  of  deputies,  on  the  19th 

*  As  the  author  was  attached  to  the  Lithuanian  corps,  and 
as  he  was  actually  in  a  Prussian  prison  at  the  time  of  the 
capture  of  Warsaw,  he  cannot  undertake  to  give  any  details 
upon  so  important  an  event  with  the  limited  information  at 
present  at  his  command. 


404  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

of  September,  by  the  venerable  general  Lafayette, 
and  in  the  extracts  from  his  remarks,  and  those  of 
general  Lamarque,  made  on  that  occasion,  and 
w^hich  have  probably  before  met  the  eye  of  the 
reader. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  LETTER  OF  PRINCE  CZARTORISKI. 

'  But  we  relied  upon  the  magnanimity  and  the 
w^isdom  of  the  cabinets  ;  trusting  to  them,  we  have 
not  availed  ourselves  of  all  the  resources  which 
were  at  our  command,  both  exterior  and  interior. 
To  secure  the  approbation  of  the  cabinets,  to  de- 
serve their  confidence,  and  to  obtain  their  support, 
we  have  never  departed  from  the  strictest  modera- 
tion ;  by  which  moderation,  indeed,  we  have  par- 
alyzed many  of  the  efforts  which  might  have  saved 
us  in  those  latter  days.  But  for  the  promises  of 
the  cabinets,  we  should  have  been  able  to  strike  a 
blow,  which  perhaps  would  have  been  decisive.  We 
thought  that  it  was  necessary  to  temporize,  to 
leave  nothing  to  chance  —  and  we  have  at  last  seen 
the  certainty,  at  the  present  moment,  that  there  is 
nothing  but  chance  that  can  save  us.' 

General  Lafayette :  *  If  it  be  said  that  the  pro- 
mises here  referred  to  might  have  been  only  an 
affair  of  the  gazettes,  —  I  answer,  that  I  have  de- 
manded explanations  of  the  Polish  legation,  and 
here  is  the  reply  which  1  have  obtained. 

'  "  In  answer  to  the  letter  which  we  have  re- 
ceived from  you,  general,  we  hasten  to  assure  you  — 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  405 

'  "  1.  That  it  was  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  who  engaged  us  on  the  7th  of  July,  to  send 
a  messenger  to  Warsaw,  whose  travelling  expen- 
ses were  advanced  by  the  Minister :  that  the  ob- 
ject of  this  messenger  was,  as  his  Excellency  the 
Count  Sebastiani  told  us,  to  induce  our  govern- 
ment to  wait  two  months  longer,  for  that  was  the 
time  necessary  for  the  negociations. 

'  "  2.  That  the  circular  of  our  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  dated  the  15th  of  August,  signed  by 
the  Minister  ad  interim,  Audne  Horodyski,  and 
also  another  circular  of  the  24th  of  the  same 
month,  signed  by  the  new  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, Theodore  Morawski,  came  to  our  hands  by 
the  post  of  the  14th  current ;  that  they  are  the 
same  circulars  which  we  at  first  officially  commu- 
nicated to  the  Count  Sebastiani,  on  the  15th  of 
September,  and  which  we  immediately  after  ad- 
dressed to  the  journals,  where  they  appeared  on 
the  17th  and  18th,  and  that  those  two  circulars  in 
fact  explain  the  effect  which  the  mission  of  the 
above  envoy  produced  at  Warsaw. 

'  "  Le  Gen.  Kniazewiecz  —  L  :  Plater."  ' 

Paris,  the  20ih  November,  1331. 

Gen,  Lamarque  :  '  Poland !  Can  it  be  true 
that  this  heroic  nation,  who  offered  her  bosom  to 
the  lance  of  the  Tartars  only  to  serve  as  a  buckler 
for  us,  is  to  fall  because  she  has  followed  the  coun- 
sels which  France  and  England  have  given  her ! 
Thus  then  is  to  be  explained  the  inaction  of  lier 
51 


406  THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

army  at  the  moment  when  it  ought  to  have  taken 
a  decisive  step.  Thus  is  to  be  explained  the  ir- 
resolution of  the  generalissimo,  v^ho  from  the  first 
moment  had  showed  so  much  audacity  and  skill. 
We  may  now  know  why  he  did  not  profit  by  the 
passage  of  the  Vistula,  which  divided  the  army  of 
the  enemy,  to  give  him  battle  either  on  one  bank 
or  the  other.  The  minister  rejects  with  indigna- 
tion this  imputation  of  complicity.  He  declares 
formally  that  he  had  made  no  promise,  that  he  had 
given  no  hope,  that  he  had  fixed  no  date.  —  Hon- 
orable Poles,  whom  I  have  seen  this  morning,  af- 
firm the  contrary.  Our  colleague,  M.  Lafayette, 
will  give  you  details,  almost  official,  on  this  sub- 
ject.' 

SESSION    OF    THE    13tH    SEPTEMBER. 

Gen,  Lafayette:  '  I  will  ask  this,  without  the  least 
expectation  of  receiving  a  reply,  but  only  to  render 
a  just  homage  to  the  conduct  of  the  Poles,  and  of 
their  government,  —  I  will  ask,  if  it  is  true  that  the 
Poles  were  urged  by  the  French  government,  by 
the  English  ministers,  and  by  the  French  ambas- 
sador at  London,  to  use  moderation,  and  not  to 
risk  a  battle,  because  the  measures  which  those 
powers  were  to  take  in  behalf  of  Poland  would  not 
be  delayed  but  for  two  months,  and  that  in  two 
months  Poland  would  enter  into  the  great  family 
of  nations. — Those  two  months  have  expired; 
and  I  state  this  here  to  render  justice  to  the  con- 


THE  POLISH  REVOLUTION.  407 

duct  of  the  Polish  government,  the  Polish  army, 
and  its  chief,  v^^ho  may  have  thought  that  on  his 
giving  a  general  battle,  to  prevent  the  passage  of 
the  Vistula,  they  could  thwart  the  good  intentions 
of  the  French  and  English  government  in  this  re- 
spect. I  think  that  this  will  be  considered  a  fair 
procedure  towards  Messieurs  the  Ministers,  to 
whom  the  questions  shall  be  addressed  on  Mon- 
day, to  apprize  them  that  this  is  one  of  those  which 
will  be  then  submitted  to  them,' 

These  documents  will  be  for  the  present  age  and 
for  posterity  an  explanation  of  the  true  causes  of 
the  ruin  of  Poland.  She  fell  not  by  the  enormous 
forces  of  her  enemy,  but  by  his  perfidious  intrigues. 
We  cannot  accuse  France  or  England,  and  indeed 
no  Pole  does  accuse  them ;  for,  although  we  may 
have  some  enemies  in  those  countries,  yet  we 
cannot  conceive  of  the  existence  of  any  causes  of 
hostility  towards  us,  by  which  those  nations  can 
be  actuated.*  They  were  blinded  by  the  promises 
of  Russia,  —  by  the  solemn  assurancesf  which  she 
gave,  that  she  would  soon  arrange  every  thing  in 
the  most  favorable  manner  for  Poland.  In  this 
web  of  intrigue  were  those  cabinets  entangled, 
who  would  else  have  followed  the  common  dictates 
of  humanity  in  succoring  Poland.  While  she  was 
thus  deceiving  the  cabinets,  Russia  was  doing  her 
utmost    to  sow  distrust  and  disunion  among  our 

*  Appendix  No.  Ill,  IV.  t  Appendix  No.  IV. 


408  THE   POLISH  REVOLUTION. 

people.  It  was  her  intrigues,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  traitors  whom  she  had  gained  for 
her  accomplices,  that  caused  the  estrangement  of 
the  nation  from  Skrzynecki,  who,  having  a  true 
Polish  heart,  had  repelled  all  her  vile  attempts  to 
shake  his  integrity,  and  who,  by  his  talent  and 
energy,  had  so  often  defeated  and  might  still  de- 
feat the  enormous  masses  which  she  had  sent 
against  us.  Those  intrigues  succeeded,  and  Rus- 
sia gained  her  end  in  overwhelming  Poland  with 
misery  ;  not  reflecting  that  by  so  doing  she  was 
bringing  misfortunes  upon  her  own  head.  Russia, 
by  a  liberal  concession  to  Poland  of  her  national 
rights,  could  have  been  truly  great.  Not  to  speak 
of  the  influence  of  the  Polish  institutions  upon  the 
happiness  of  her  own  people  ;  her  true  stability 
and  strength  could  in  no  way  be  so  well  secured 
as  by  the  independent  existence  of  Poland.  They 
who  have  labored  for  our  destruction  were  not 
then  true  Russians ;  they  were  the  enemies  of 
their  country  and  of  humanity; — heartless  calcula- 
tors, acting  with  a  single  view  to  their  own  per- 
sonal aggrandizement ;  —  men,  in  fact,  who  have 
no  country  but  self.  Equally  the  enemies  of  the 
monarch  and  of  the  people,  they  make  the  one  a 
tyrant,  and  sport  with  the  misery  of  the  other. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 
HISTORICAL    VIEW  OF   LITHUANIA. 

If,  notwithstanding  the  many  good  works  recently  pub- 
lished upon  Poland,  the  history  of  that  country  is  still  but 
imperfectly  known  to  the  rest  of  the  world ;  it  may  be  said 
that  the  history  of  Lithuania  is  almost  absolutely  unknown 
to  the  people  of  the  West.  It  is  generally  thought  that  it  has 
always  composed  an  integral  part  of  the  Russian  empire,  and 
that  it  was  only  occasionally  that  it  has  held  relations  with 
ancient  Poland;  —  a  false  impression,  and  one  which  the 
public  journals  have  but  too  frequently  assisted  in  propa- 
gating. The  truth  is,  that  for  five  hundred  years,  Lithuania 
has  voluntarily  associated  herself  with  the  destinies  of  an- 
cient Poland,  and  it  is  only  with  shame  and  reluctance  that 
she  has  borne  the  Russian  yoke.  But  that  which  is  of  great 
importance  at  present  to  consider,  is,  the  ancient  sympathy 
which  has  constantly  united  the  two  people.  There  is  a 
common  spirit  of  nationality,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
studiously  contrived  disintegration  of  their  territory,  has  al- 
ways animated  the  Lithuanians  and  the  Poles; — a  most  im- 
portant fact,  for  it  is  on  this  fraternity  of  feeling  and  com- 
munity of  opinion  between  the  ancient  Polish  provinces,  that 
the  salvation  of  modern  Poland  essentially  depends.  We 
will  endeavor,  by  presenting  to  the  reader  the  following 
extracts  from  the  work  of  Leonard  Chodzko,  to  throw  some 
light  upon  the  political  history  of  this  interesting  portion  of 
the  Slavian  race. 

*  For  a  long  time  a  distinct  power,  and  governed  by  its 
Grand  Dukes,  united  for  the  first  time  with  Poland  in  the 
year  1386,  and  making,  in  1569,  an  integral  part  of  the  re- 


412  APPENDIX. 

public  of  Poland,  Lithuania,  from  that  epoch,  to  that  of 
1795,  formed,  in  the  political  state,  the  third  province  of 
Poland ;  being  composed  of  the  palatinates  ojf  Wilno,  of 
Troki,  the  duchies  of  Starostia,  and  Samogitia,  of  Nowogro- 
dek,  of  Brzsclitewski,  of  Minsk,  of  Polock,  of  Witepsk, 
Mscislaw  and  of  Smolensk.  The  Grand  Duchy  was  bound- 
ed on  the  north  by  Courland,  Semigallia,  Polish  Livonia, 
and  the  province  of  Great  Nowogorod ;  on  the  east  by  Mos- 
covy  ;  on  the  south  by  the  Ukraine,  Volhynia,  and  the  coun- 
try of  Chelme  ;  on  the  west,  by  the  Baltic  Sea,  the  duchy  of 
Prussia,  and  the  palatinates  of  Podlasia  and  Lublin.  Its 
arms  were  a  cavalier  at  full  speed,  with  a  sabre  raised  over 
his  head.  This  cavalier  of  Lithuania,  joined  with  the  white 
eagle  of  Poland,  figured  inseparably  upon  the  arms  of  the 
republic,  upon  the  national  standards,  the  public  edifices  and 
the  coins,  up  to  the  moment  when  foreign  force  and  domestic 
treason  struck  a  liberticide  blow  at  that  union  which  ages  has 
consecrated.  In  1812,  for  a  moment,  those  fraternal  arms 
were  united ;  but  separated  again,  they  once  more  floated 
upon  every  banner  after  the  memorable  date  of  the  29th  of 
November.  According  to  ancient  traditions,  towards  the 
year  900,  there  landed  on  the  coast  of  Samogitia,  between 
Memel,  Polonga,  and  Libau,  a  colony  of  Italians  who  intro- 
duced into  that  country  a  certain  degree  of  civilization,  and 
from  thence  came  that  multitude  of  Latin  words  which  are 
to  be  remarked  in  the  Lithuanian  language.  From  these 
Italian  families,  arose  several  sovereign  dynasties,  which 
governed  Lithuania  and  Samogitia.  Of  this  origin  were, 
without  doubt,  the  Gerules  or  Herules,  who  formerly  gov- 
erned Lithuania.  This  people  is  the  same  which  in  the  fifth 
century  invaded  Italy,  with  Odacre,  and  returning  on  their 
steps,  spread  themselves  upon  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  which 
embrace,  at  the  present  day.  Oriental  Prussia.  Lithuania, 
Samogitia,  and  Courland. 

*  The  Lithuanians,  though  subjugated  first  by  the  Russians, 
did  not  fail  to  make  their  strength  soon  felt  by  their  invaders. 
In  the  13th  century,  when  the  Tartars  ravaged  on  one  side 
the  Russian  States,  the  Lithuanians  on  the  other  side  took 
•^jossession  of  Grodno,  Brzesc,  and  Drohyczyn,  and  did  not 
stop  till  they  reached  the  banks  of  the  Prypec  and  the  town  of 
Mozyr.  In  the  north  their  victorious  arms  were  pushed  as  far 
as  the  Dwina,  and  the  city  of  Polock.  In  the  year  1220,  the 
Russians,  under  Mscislaw-Romanowicz,  declared  war  upon 
Lithuania,  but  they  were  beaten  near  the  river  Tasiolda,  and 
the  Lithuanians  augmented  their  possessions  by  the  occupa- 
tion of  Pinsk  and  Turow.     Ringold  was  the  first  who  took 


APPENDIX.  413 

the  title  of  Grand  Duke  of  Lithuania,  in  1235.  Mindowe  or 
Mendog,  having  promised  the  Pope  to  embrace  the  Christian 
religion,  was  crowned  king  of  Lithuania  in  1252,  at  Nowo- 
grodek ;  but  this  did  not  continue  long,  for  Mindowe,  finding 
himself  deceived,  returned  to  Paganism,  and  died  in  1263. 
From  1280  to  1315,  the  dukes  Latuwer  and  Witenes  reigned 
over  this  country ;  but  the  greatest  power  of  Lithuania  dates 
from  the  fourteenth  century,  when  Gedymin  seized  the  reins 
of  government.  Impatient  to  crush  the  Russian  power,  which 
had  distressed  Lithuania,  this  prince  defeated  the  enemy  in 
1320,  upon  the  river  Pirna,  made  himself  master  of  Volhynia, 
of  Riiovie,  of  Sewerie,  of  Czerniechovia,  and  extended  his 
boundaries  as  far  as  Putiwel  upon  the  Diesna.  In  1340, 
when  Gedymin  perished  upon  the  field  of  battle  by  the  hands 
of  the  Teutonic  knights,  the  Tartaro-Russian  power  com- 
menced ravaging  Polodia,  but  Olgerd,  successor  of  Gedymin, 
came  to  the  succor  of  his  nephews,  Koryatowicz,  who  were 
in  possession  of  that  province,  defeated  the  Czars  of  the 
Tartars  in  a  pitched  battle,  and  extended  the  territory  of 
Lithuania  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Don  and  the  Black  Sea. 
To  form  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  Lithuanian  provinces, 
it  is  sufficient  to  point  out  here  the  partition  between  the  sons 
of  Gedymin:  Monwid  possessed  Kiernow  and  Slonim; 
Narymond  —  Pinsk,  Mozyr,  and  a  part  of  Volhynia  :  Olgerd 
—  Krewo,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  duchy,  and  all  the  coun- 
try as  far  as  the  Berezina;  Kieystat — Samogitia,  Troki,  and 
Podlachia  :  Koryat — Nowogrodek  and  Wolkowysk :  Lubar 
— Wlodgimierz,  with  the  rest  of  Volhynia :  Jawnat — Wilno, 
Osmiana,  Wilkomierz,  Braslaw.  The  last  succeeded  first 
to  his  father,  but  after  his  death  it  was  Olgerd  who  took  the 
reins  of  government. 

'  Olgerd  was  the  most  powerful  of  the  sovereigns  of  Lith- 
uania. The  republic  of  Pskow,  in  1346,  and  that  of  Nowo- 
gorod,  in  1349,  acknowledged  him  for  their  master.  In 
1363,  the  Tartars  of  Perekop  (Krimea,)  became  his  vassals. 
On  the  east,  embracing  the  cause  of  the  duke  of  Twer,  he 
came  three  times,  in  1368,  1370,  1373,  to  break  his  lance 
against  the  ramparts  of  the  city  of  Moscow ;  of  that  city 
where  at  a  later  day  the  great  generals  of  Poland  and  of 
Lithuania,  and  at  last,  in  1812,  the  Gallo-Polono-Lithuanian 
lances  were  crossed  in  front  of  the  superb  Kremlin  !  Kieg- 
stut  powerfully  seconded  his  brother  in  his  conquests.  It  was 
under  such  auspices  that  Olgerd,  descending  to  the  tomb, 
left  his  brilliant  inheritance  to  Jagellon,  one  of  his  thirteenth 
sons.     Jagellon,  who  ascended  the  grand-ducal  throne  in 

52 


414  APPENDIX. 

1381,  ceded  it  to  his  cousin  Witold,  in  1386,  when  he  went 
to  place  upon  his  head  the  crown  of  the  Piasts,  to  unite  his 
hand  to  that  of  Hedwige,  and  to  cement  forever  the  glorious 
junction  of  Lithuania  and  Poland.  In  1389,  he  gave  the 
government  of  the  duchy  of  Severie-Nowogorodien  and  the 
republic  of  Nowogorod-the-Great  to  his  two  brothers  ;  while 
on  the  other  side,  his  cousin  Witold,  being  attacked  in  his 
new  conquests  by  the  Tartars,  beat  them,  chased  a  part  of 
them  beyond  the  Don,  and  transported  those  who  fell  into 
his  hands  into  the  different  countries  of  Lithuania,  where, 
instead  of  reducing  them  to  slavery,  he  gave  them  posses- 
sions, with  the  liberty  of  freely  .exercising  their  religious 
rights.  It  was  the  descendants  of  those  Tartars  who  showed 
themselves  such  worthy  children  of  their  adopted  country,  at 
the  epoch  of  the  war  of  independence,  in  1794,  and  in  the 
campaign  of  1812.  In  this  manner  AYitold  acquired  the  pos- 
session, not  only  of  the  Russian  territories,  delivered  from 
the  yoke  of  the  Tartars  by  his  grandfather  and  his  uncle,  but 
those  which  were  held  by  the  other  small  Trans-Borysthen- 
ian  Czars.  Turning  then  his  victorious  army  to  the  north, 
he  forced  the  northern  republics,  whose  fidelity  he  suspected, 
to  humble  themselves  before  him,  and  recognize  his  unquali- 
fied supremacy.  In  fine,  Poland  and  Lithuania  arrived,  at 
that  epoch,  to  such  a  degree  of  power,  that  the  dukes  of 
Mazovia  and  Russia,  the  Czars  of  Moscow,  Basile,  that  of 
Twer  Borys,  that  of  Riezan,  Olegh,  the  little  Czars  of  Pere- 
kop  and  Volga,  the  Teutonic  masters,  the  Prussians  and 
Livonians,  in  fine,  the  emperor  of  Germany,  Sigismond  him- 
self, accompanied  by  his  wife,  and  several  princes,  Erik, 
king  of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  as  well  as  the  ambassadors 
of  the  emperor  of  the  East,  Paleogogus,  presented  themselves 
to  Wladislas-Jagellon  at  Luck,  in  Volhynia,  and  held  there  a 
general  congress  in  1428,  in  which  they  deliberated  upon  the 
war  against  the  Ottomans  ;  and  at  which  the  emperor  of 
Germany  attempted  in  vain,  by  means  of  intrigues,  to  throw 
some  seeds  of  dissension  between  Jagellon  and  Witold. 
Witold  died  in  1430.  Kasimir  le  Jagellon,  successor  of 
Wladislay,  was  reigning  still  with  eclat ;  when  the  moment 
approached,  at  which  from  one  side  the  Ottomans  began  to 
take  possession  of  the  Tauride,  while  a  new  Muscovite  pow- 
er, subjugating  the  Russians  from  the  north  and  east,  were 
soon  to  contract  the  frontiers  of  Lithuania. 

'  All  this,  however,  could  have  no  effect  upon  the  union  of 
the  two  nations,  which  daily  acquired  new  strength  ;  for, 
subsequently  to  the  first  union  of  1386,  a  Diet,  in  1413,  held  in 


APPENDIX.  415 

the  bourg  of  Horoldo,  having  declared  the  Lithuanians  to  be 
on  an  equal  footing  with  the  Poles  in  regard  to  taxes  and 
laws,  many  Lithuanian  families  allied  themselves  with  Polish 
families ;  in  fine,  the  arms  of  the  two  nations  were  united. 
It  was  then  determined  that  the  Lithuanians  should  receive 
their  grand  duke  from  the  hands  of  the  king  of  Poland,  and 
that,  when  the  latter  should  die  without  children  or  descend- 
ants worthy  to  succeed  him,  the  Poles  should  elect  their  new 
king  conjointly  with  the  Lithuanians.  The  alliance  conclu- 
ded in  1413,  was  renewed  in  1499;  and  it  was  added,  ex- 
plicitly, that  the  Lithuanians  should  not  elect  their  grand 
duke  without  the  concurrence  of  the  Poles,  nor  the  Poles 
their  king,  without  that  of  the  Lithuanians.  In  1561,  the 
knights  militant  submitted  themselves,  and  the  part  of 
Livonia  which  remained  with  them,  to  the  domination  of 
the  king  of  Poland,  as  grand  duke  of  Lithuania ;  the  new 
duke  of  Courland  became  also  his  feudatory.  In  fine,  in 
1569,  under  Sigismond-Augustus,  the  Poles  and  Lithuanians 
held  a  Diet  at  Lublin,  in  which  the  grand  duchy  was  limited 
to  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  so  that  they  thereafter  formed 
but  one  body,  subject  to  one  prince,  who  was  conjointly 
elected  by  the  two  nations,  under  the  double  title  of  king  of 
Poland  and  grand  duke  of  Lithuania.  It  was  agreed,  also, 
that  the  Diet  should  be  always  held  at  Warsaw,  that  the  two 
people  should  have  the  same  senate,  the  same  chamber  of 
deputies ;  that  their  coins  should  be  of  the  same  designa- 
tion ;  that,  in  fine,  their  alliances,  their  auxiliary  troops,  and 
every  thing,  should  be  in  common.  The  campaigns  of  Mos- 
kow  'Under  Sigismond  III,  Wladislaz  IV,  and  JEtienne  Ba- 
tory,  amply  proved  that  the  Lithuanians  were  worthy  of  call- 
ing the  Poles  brethren  ;  for  they  were  found  ready  for  every 
sacrifice,  when  the  general  good  of  the  country  was  in  ques- 
tion. In  the  laws  of  1673,  1677,  and  1685,  it  was  ruled  that 
each  third  Diet  should  be  held  in  Lithuania  at  Grodno  ;  the 
Diets  of  convocation,  and  of  election  and  coronation  were 
excepted,  however,  from  this  rule.  In  1697,  the  Polish  and 
Lithuanian  laws  received  an  equal  force  and  authority. 

'  At  the  epoch  of  the  regeneration  of  Poland,  the  Lithua- 
nians gave  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  their  devotedness 
to  the  Polish  cause,  in  the  last  years  of  the  existence  of 
Poland.  In  effect,  when  they  became  satisfied  that,  for  the 
common  interest,  and  to  give  more  consistency  to  the  new 
form  of  government  which  it  was  proposed  to  establish,  at 
the  Diet  of  1788,  it  was  necessary  to  strengthen  still  more 
the  relations  between  Lithuania  and  the  crown ;    that  is  to 


416  APPENDIX. 

say,  between  Little  and  Great  Poland,  so  as  to  form  out  of 
the  three  provinces  a  single  powerful  state,  and  to  obliterate 
totally  all  the  distinctions  which  had  before  existed  between 
the  Poles  and  the  Lithuanians,  they  made  a  voluntary  sacri- 
fice of  the  privileges  which  they  had  held  with  great  per- 
tinacity, and  renounced,  without  hesitation,  that  of  having 
a  separate  army  and  treasury,  consenting  to  unite  them- 
selves under  a  single  administration  with  the  two  other 
provinces. 

'  The  whole  world  was  witness  to  the  heroism  which  the 
Lithuanians  displayed  in  the  glorious  confederation  of  Bar, 
from  1768  to  1772;  in  the  campaigns  of  1792  and  1794, 
against  foreign  rapacity,  when  Kosciuszko,  a  Lithuanian  by 
birth,  covered  with  imperishable  laurels  the  chains  of  Poland. 
The  Lithuanians  fell,  but  they  fell  with  the  whole  of  Poland, 
and  were  buried  in  the  common  ruin.  How  nobly  have  not 
the  Lithuanians  been  seen  to  figure  among  the  brave  Polish 
patriots,  who  sought  in  France,  in  Italy,  and  in  Turkey, 
some  chances  of  restoration  for  a  country  which  had  been 
the  victim  of  foreign  ambition  !  And  how  many  of  them 
have  not  been  found  under  the  banners  of  Dombrowski,  in 
Italy,  and  under  those  of  Kniaziewiez,  upon  the  Danube  1 
Have  we  not  seen,  in  the  years  1806  and  1809,  twelve  thous" 
and  Lithuanians,  united  with  their  brethren,  the  Volhynians, 
the  Podolians,  and  the  Ukranians,  hastening  to  range  them- 
selves under  the  banners  of  the  army  of  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Warsaw  1  In  1812,  their  joy  was  extreme,  when  they 
thought  that  their  political  existence  was,  at  last,  about  to 
be  renewed.  Then  was  seen  the  cavalier  of  Lithuania,  unit- 
ed with  the  white  eagle,  decorating  the  flags  planted  on  the 
walls  of  Wilno.  But  the  disastrous  retreat  of  the  French 
army  struck  a  mortal  blow  to  the  destinies  of  those  coun- 
tries. The  kingdom  of  Poland  was  proclaimed  in  1815 ; 
the  Diets  of  Warsaw,  of  1818,  1820,  and  1825,  preserved 
silence  respecting  the  lot  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Lithuania. 
A  look  full  of  hope  from  all  Lithuania  was  turned  once 
more  towards  Warsaw,  upon  the  24th  of  May,  1829,  the 
day  of  coronation  of  Nicholas  the  1st,  but  the  reunion  of 
Lithuania  was  not  even  made  a  question  of.' 

[Tableau  de  la  Pologne,  ancienne  et  moderne,  par  Malte  Brun,  edition 

refondue  et  augmentee  par  Leonard  Chodzko.   Paris,  1831.  pp.  888  — 

295.  Tom.  I.] 


APPENDIX.  417 


No.  II. 

ADDRESS  OF    THE    NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT    OF    POLAND    TO  THE    INHABIT- 
ANTS   OF    LITHUANIA,    VOLHYNIA,   PODOLIA,    AND    UKRAINE.* 

Brethren,  and  Fellow  Citizens  ! 

The  National  Government  of  regenerated  Poland,  happy 
on  being  able  at  last  to  address  you  in  the  name  of  the  bond 
of  brotherhood  and  liberty,  is  anxious  to  lay  before  you  the 
present  state  of  our  country,  and  to  show  you  our  wants,  our 
dangers,  and  our  hopes. 

The  wall  which  separated  us  is  broken  down  —  your  wishes 
and  ours  realized.  The  Polish  eagle  flies  over  our  territory. 
United  as  we  are,  hand  and  heart,  we  will  henceforth  pro- 
ceed in  concert  to  accomplish  the  difficult,  perilous,  but  just 
and  sacred  work  —  the  restoration  of  our  country. 

The  Manifesto  of  the  Diet,  in  explaining  the  cause  of  our 
rising,  gave  an  account  of  our  sentiments  as  well  as  yours. 
Scarcely  had  we  risen  in  arms,  provided  with  but  few  means, 
and  uncertain  what  course  to  pursue,  before  we  showed  to 
the  world  and  to  the  Emperor  Nicholas  that  the  same  spirit 
animated  us,  and  that  we  were  desirous  to  become,  as  we 
had  formerly  been,  but  one  and  the  same  nation.  The  Em- 
peror Nicholas  did  not  wish  to  consecrate  the  tomb  of  his 
brother  by  a  monument,  which,  during  the  life  time  of  Alex- 
ander, would  have  sealed  the  glory  of  his  reign. 

He  did  not  wish  to  regard  us  as  Poles,  bowed  down  with 
injuries  —  a«  citizens  of  a  free  and  independent  country  ;  — 
and  would  treat  with  us  only  as  slaves  who  had  rebelled 
against  Russia.  We  have  arrested  —  we  have  driven  back 
the  threatening  phalanxes  of  his  different  corps.  Of  the  for- 
ces of  which  our  army  was  composed,  some  fought  here 
against  the  main  body  of  the  enemy ;  others  penetrated  into 
your  provinces  to  call  forth  our  brethren  to  range  themselves 
under  the  national  banner.     You  did  not  wait  for  this  appeal. 

At  the  very  commencement  of  the  insurrection,  many  of 
your  citizens  explained  their  sentiments  and  their  wishes  in 
the  National  Assembly,  and  some  raised  regiments,  dignified 
by  the  names  of  your  provinces  ;  in  fine,  whole  districts  of 
Lithuania  and  Volhynia  rose  en  masse. 

*  Not  having  a  copy  of  this  address  in  the  original,  we  make  use  of  a 
rather  unsatisfactory  translation,  which  we  find  in  the  journals  of  the  day. 


418  APPENDIX. 

The  partition  of  Poland  has  been  denominated  a  crime  by 
the  unanimous  voice  of  Europe,  and  who  at  this  day  will  revoke 
such  a  decision  1  Who  will  venture  to  come  forward  as  the 
champion  against  it  ?  Undoubtedly  none !  And  we  have 
the  well-grounded  hope  that  Europe  will  hasten  to  recognize 
our  independence,  as  soon  as  we  have  proved  by  our  courage, 
our  perseverance,  our  union,  our  moderate  and  noble  con- 
duct, that  we  deserve  to  be  a  free  nation.  This  revolution 
is  only  a  consequence  of  our  oppression  and  our  misfortunes. 
It  was  the  wish  of  our  hearts,  and  arises  from  the  nature  of 
our  history,  which  displays  our  determination  from  the  very 
beginning,  and  proves  that  our  rising  was  not  of  foreign 
prompting.  It  is  not  civil  war  —  it  is  not  tainted  with  the 
blood  of  our  brethren — we  have  not  overturned  social  insti- 
tutions in  order  to  raise  up  new  ones  at  hazard;  —  it  is  a 
war  of  independence,  the  most  just  of  wars.  This  is  the 
character  of  our  revolution,  which  is  at  once  mild,  but  firm 
—  which  with  one  arm  conquers  the  enemy,  and  with  the 
other  raises  and  ennobles  the  needy  peasant. 

We  admire  England  and  France  —  we  wish  to  be,  like 
them,  a  civilized  nation,  but  without  ceasing  to  be  Poles  ! 
Nations  cannot  and  ought  not  to  change  the  elements  of  their 
existence.  Each  has  its  climate,  industry,  religion,  manners, 
character,  education,  and  history.  From  these  different 
elements  spring  the  feelings  or  passions  which  display  them- 
selves in  revolutions,  and  the  circumstances  proper  to  be 
adopted  in  their  future  conduct. 

Individuality  strongly  expressed,  forms  the  power  of  a 
people.  We  have  preserved  ours  in  the  midst  of  slavery. 
Love  of  country,  prepared  to  make  every  sacrifice  —  cour- 
age —  piety  —  noble-mindedness,  and  gentleness,  formed  the 
character  of  our  forefathers.     These  qualities  also  are  ours. 

The  patriots  of  Warsaw  triumphed  without  chiefs  and 
without  law ;  yet  with  what  crime  can  they  be  charged  1 
An  army  of  30,000  men,  and,  in  short,  the  whole  king- 
dom, rose  as  if  by  enchantment ;  and  how  did  they  con- 
duct themselves  towards  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine  1 
That  prince,  who  for  fifteen  years  had  shown  himself  desti- 
tute of  regard  or  pity  for  our  feelings  and  liberties,  was  in  our 
power ;  but  he  knew  the  nation,  and,  just  to  it  for  once  only,  he 
intrusted  his  person  and  his  army  to  our  honor  !  At  the  mo- 
ment of  alarm,  we  did  not  listen  to  the  voice  of  public  ven- 
geance, but  respected  the  prince  and  his  troops,  without  taking 
advantage  of  our  superiority.  Our  battalions  who  had  awaited 
with  a  firm  determination  all  the  forces  of  Russia,  allowed  to 


APPENDIX.  419 

pass  through  their  ranks  the  fallen  enemy,  whose  safety  was 
guaranteed  by  the  national  honor. 

The  generosity  of  the  nation  has  been  proved  by  many 
isolated  facts,  and  Europe  admires  our  moderation  as  much 
as  our  valor.  Brethren,  fellow-citizens,  equal  admiration 
still  awaits  us.  Without  delay,  then,  come  forward  with  the 
whole  of  your  force  simultaneously,  and  act  as  one  man  in 
peace  and  in  war  ;  it  is  the  people  who  are  the  source  of  all 
power.  To  the  people,  then,  direct  your  views  and  your 
affections.  Children,  worthy  of  your  fathers,  you  will  act 
like  them ;  you  will  break  the  odious  bonds,  and  you  will 
cement  a  holy  alliance  by  reciprocal  benefits  and  by  grati- 
tude. In  other  countries  it  is  by  force,  and  force  alone, 
that  the  people  recover  their  liberties  —  here  those  liberties 
are  received  as  the  gift  of  their  brethren.  A  generous,  just, 
and  necessary  deed  will  become  the  act  only  of  your  own 
choice,  and  you  will  proclaim  to  the  people  their  independ- 
ence, and  the  return  of  the  Polish  eagles  to  their  native 
soil.  Our  fields  will  lose  nothing  in  cultivation  and  value 
when  they  are  tilled  by  the  industry  of  brave  men.  You 
will  be  ennobled  in  the  eyes  of  civilized  Europe,  and  your 
country  will  gain  millions  of  fellow-citizens,  who,  like  our 
brave  peasants,  will  fly  to  the  defence  of  their  liberty,  and 
drive  back  a  power  whose  character  is  that  only  of  slavery. 
Do  not  forget,  brethren  and  fellow  citizens,  that  the  Greek 
religion  is  professed  by  a  great  part  of  the  people.  Tolera- 
tion is  one  of  the  qualities  of  civilization.  The  clergy,  the 
churches,  and  religion,  shall  be  placed  under  the  protection 
of  the  government,  and  will  lend  you  their  assistance  in 
carrying  this  measure  of  justice  into  effect. 

[The  address  goes  on  to  enlarge  upon  the  respect  paid  by 
Polish  noblemen  to  religious  rites  and  feelings,  and  calls  on 
the  people  on  this  occasion  to  follow  their  example  ;  also  to 
send  deputies  from  the  different  provinces  to  the  National 
Congress.  It  then  goes  on  to  describe  the  vast  power  of 
Russia,  and  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered,  much  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  proclamation  of  Skrzynecki,  and  con- 
cludes thus : — ] 

God  hath  already  wrought  prodigies  for  us.  God,  and  not 
the  Emperor  of  Russia,  will  be  our  judge  !    He  will  decide. 

He  will  decide  who  hath  committed  perjury,  who  has  been 
the  victim  of  oppression,  and  who  ought  to  obtain  the  vic- 
tory. We  have  already  fought  with  success,  in  the  name 
of  the  God  of  our  fathers  ;  and  we  will  fight  till  at  length  we 
have  accomplished  the  ends  of  justice.  All  the  nations  of 
Europe  possessed  of  the  feelings  of  humanity  tremble  for  our 


420  APPENDIX. 

fate,  and  exult  with  joy  at  our  successes.  —  They  only  wait 
your  general  rising  to  hail  you  as  members  of  the  free  and 
independent  nations  of  Europe. 

Brethren  and  fellow-citizens  !  when  we  shall  have  finish- 
ed this  terrible  and  unequal  contest,  we  will  invite  the  Pow- 
ers of  Europe  to  form  themselves  into  a  tribunal  of  justice  ; 
we  will  appear  before  them  covered  with  our  blood,  lay  open 
the  book  of  our  annals,  unroll  the  chart  of  Europe,  and 
say  —  *  Behold  our  cause  and  yours  !  The  injustice  done 
to  Poland  is  known  to  you :  you  behold  her  despair  ;  for 
her  courage  and  generosity  appears  to  her  enemies  !' 

Brethren  !  let  us  hope  in  God.  He  will  inspire  the  breast 
of  our  judges,  who,  obeying  the  dictates  of  eternal  justice, 
will  say  — '  Long  live  Poland  !  free  and  independent  !" 

The  President  of  the  National  Government, 

(Signed)  The  Prince  Czartoriski. 

Warsaw,  May  13,  1831. 


No.  III. 

There  is  a  rich  consolation  for  the  sufferings  of  a  just 
cause,  in  the  demonstrations  of  sympathy  which  my  coun- 
trymen have  uniformly  met  with  on  the  part  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  have  been  thrown  in  their  exile.  I  can- 
not refuse  myself  the  satisfaction  of  inserting  here  one 
among  the  many  notices  which  have  appeared  in  the  jour- 
nals of  the  day,  exhibiting  the  warm  interest  with  which 
they  have  been  regarded  by  the  people  of  France. 

[From  the  N.  Y.  Courier  des  Etats  Unis;  7th  April.] 

*  The  Journal  of  Saoine  and  Loire  publishes  full  details 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Poles  at  Mafon.  The  reception  given 
to  the  third  detachment,  which  has  passed  through  that  city, 
was  even  still  more  marked,  affectionate,  and  touching  than 
that  of  the  preceding.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
quitted  their  labors,  to  go  out  to  meet  the  exiles.  The  na- 
tional guard  and  the  troops  of  the  line  paid  them  the  honors 
of  the  place.  Salvos  of  artillery  announced  their  arrival  and 
their  departure.  It  was  a  triumphal  march.  The  director  of 
the  packet  boats  gratuitously  transported  the  Poles  from  Chal- 
ons to  Lyons.  At  Mafon,  just  as  the  packet  boat  pushed  off, 
a  Polish  captain  threw  his  sword  upon  the  bank,  exclaiming 
—  *  Brave  Magonnois,  I  give  you  the  dearest  possession  I 
have  in  the  world  ;   preserve  it  as  a  token  of  our  gratitude.' 


APPENDIX.  421 

The  sword  was  carried  in  triumph  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  of 
Ma9on,  where  it  was  deposited,  and  a  subscription  was  open- 
ed to  make  a  present  to  the  brave  stranger  of  a  sword  of 
honor. 

'  The  arrival  of  this  column  at  Lyons  was  celebrated  with 
great  solemnity.  An  idea  of  it  may  be  formed  from  the 
recital  which  is  given  in  the  Precurseur  de  Lyon. 

*  "  Since  the  triumphal  passage  of  the  veteran  of  Liberty, 
Lyons  has  seen  nothing  so  magnificent  as  the  great  move- 
^ment  of  which  the  arrival  of  the  Poles  was  the  signal.  From 
eighty  to  a  hundred  thousand  souls  marched  before  the  col- 
umn, upon  the  road  of  Bresse,  and  from  far  beyond  the  fau- 
bourgs. Having  reached  the  entrance  of  the  city,  escorted 
by  the  elite  of  its  inhabitants,  the  Poles  found  themselves  in 
the  midst  of  an  immense  crowd,  who  made  the  air  ring  with 
their  cries  of  enthusiasm  and  sympathy.  From  thence  to 
the  Place  de  Terreaux,  the  column  experienced  extreme 
difficulty  in  advancing  through  the  throngs  of  the  delirious 
multitude.  Words  would  fail  to  give  the  brilliant  colors  of 
this  truly  sublime  picture. 

*  "  Maledictions  against  the  infamous  policy  of  the  Cabi- 
nets, mingled  with  the  cries  of  '  Vive  la  Pologne  !'  The  ac- 
cents of  generous  indignation  were  united  with  those  of  a 
deep  and  heart-felt  pity  for  those  remnants  of  an  exiled 
people. 

*  "  A  banquet  was  prepared  at  the  Brotteaux.  One  of  the 
committee  ascended  a  carriage  to  conduct  hither  that  young 
heroine  [the  countess  Plater,  we  presume,]  who  follows  to  a 
land  of  exile  her  noble  companions  in  arms,  as  she  had  fol- 
lowed them  upon  the  field  of  battle.  The  people  had  scarcely 
recognized  her,  when  they  precipitated  themselves  towards 
her,  unharnessed  the  horses,  and  dragged  the  carriage  in 
triumph  to  the  place  of  the  assemblage. 

'  "  The  banquet  was  attended  by  more  than  five  hundred 
persons,  and  the  committee  had  been  forced  to  refuse  a  great 
number  of  subscribers  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  the  ac- 
commodations. 

«  "  The  first  toast,  given  by  the  president,  M.  Galibert,  was, 
'  To  immortal  Poland  !'  This  toast,  enlarged  upon  with  an 
eloquence  full  of  warmth  and  pathos,  excited  a  universal 
enthusiasm.  The  French  embraced  their  noble  guests,  and 
it  was  a  touching  spectacle  —  this  assembly,  electrified  by 
the  most  pure  emotions  of  the  soul,  and  in  which  tears  flowed 
from  every  eye. 

53 


422  APPENDIX. 

*  "  It  was  affecting  to  see  the  physiognomies  of  the  brave 
Poles  during  this  solemnity.  Many  of  them  understood  the 
French  language,  and  tears  flowed  down  their  cheeks  at  each 
of  the  allusions  which  the  orators  made  to  their  absent  coun- 
try, their  crushed  revolution.  The  young  heroine,  seated  by 
the  side  of  the  president,  and  who  excited  a  profound  and 
general  interest,  could  hardly  suppress  the  sobs  which  op- 
pressed her. 

*  "  The  most  perfect  order  reigned  through  the  whole  fete. 
Not  a  gendarme  was  present,  and  no  excess  of  the  slightest 
kind  occurred.  This  countless  multitude  was  calm,  notwith- 
standing the  violence  of  its  emotions.  The  people  proved 
how  little  their  masters  understand  them."  ' 


No.  IV.  . 

The  following  extract  from  the  London  Courier  of  April 
9th,  1832,  in  reference  to  the  recent  Imperial  Manifesto 
which  converts  Poland  into  a  province  of  Russia,  may  serve 
to  confirm  the  remarks  which  we  have  made  in  the  text,  on 
the  system  of  deception  practised  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
towards  the  Cabinets  both  of  England  and  France,  on  the 
subject  of  Poland. 

*  We  perceive  that  the  Manifesto  of  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia, relative  to  Poland,  which  we  gave  on  Saturday,  has  ex- 
cited general  indignation  in  France,  as  well  as  in  this  coun- 
try. Perhaps,  as  the  Poles  are  not  of  a  character  to  be  awed 
into  submission  by  the  power  of  their  oppressors,  whilst  the 
slightest  chance  of  emancipation  is  open  to  them,  it  is  better 
for  the  cause  of  humanity  that  they  should  be  tied  hand  and 
foot  in  the  bonds  of  slavery,  than  that  any  opportunity  should 
be  afforded  them  of  again  saturating  the  soil  of  Poland  with 
the  blood  of  its  best  and  bravest  patriots.  If  life  with  dis- 
grace be  better  than  death  without  dishonor,  the  destruction 
of  the  nationality  of  Poland  may  not  be  so  great  an  evil  as 
the  w^orld  at  large  imagine.  If  the  utter  impossibility  of  suc- 
cessful revolt  be  clearly  shown,  the  Poles  may  at  length  wear 
their  fetters  without  resorting  to  vain  attempts  to  shake  them 
off;  and  the  monarch  who  has  enslaved  them,  may  gradually 
witness  the  extinction  of  mind,  in  proportion  as  he  coerces  and 
binds  the  body.  But  what  a  sad  disgrace  it  is  upon  the  gov- 
ernment and  people  of  this   country  to  have  neglected,  in 


APPENDIX.  42S 

proper  season,  the  means  of  securing  to  the  brave  and  un- 
fortunate people  of  Poland  a  nationality  which  would  have 
given  to  them  the  form  and  substance  of  liberty,  without  in- 
volving the  necessity  of  a  rupture  with  the  Power  which 
has  conquered  them.  Is  it  not  true,  that,  at  a  time  when 
the  warm-hearted  and  generous  portion  of  the  people  of_ 
this  country  were  calling  upon  the  Government  to  exercise 
the  influence  and  power  of  the  British  Crown  on  behalf  of 
the  Poles,  the  reply  was,  '  We  cannot  go  to  war  with  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  for  foreign  interests  —  we  cannot  insist 
upon  his  evacuating  Poland,  and  leaving  the  country  in  a 
state  of  complete  independence  ;  but  we  will  use  our  good 
offices  towards  obtaining  favorable  terms  for  the  insurgents ; 
and  we  have  already  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  has  declared  that  the  nationality  of 
Poland  shall  in  no  case  be  forfeited,  and  that  in  all  other 
respects  the  world  shall  be  astonished  at  the  extent  of  his 
generosity  towards  the  vanquished.' 

'  Is  there  a  member  of  the  Government,  or  any  other  per- 
son, who  will  tell  us  that  such  language  as  this  was  not 
made  publicly  and  privately,  in  Parliament  and  out  of  Par- 
liament, in  the  newspapers  and  out  of  the  newspapers,  and 
that  the  sole  excuse  for  non-intervention  was  not  the  real  or 
pretended  belief  that  the  nationality  of  Poland  would  be 
respected,  and  the  conduct  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  be 
full  of  generosity  and  magnanimity  ?  Gracious  God  !  and 
are  we  come  to  such  a  pass  that  the  sovereign  of  a  semi- 
barbarous  country  can  laugh  at  the  honor  and  dignity  of 
the  British  name  !  Is  all  the  respect  that  he  can  show  to 
the  good  offices  of  the  British  Government,  in  behalf  of  a 
great-minded  people,  to  be  found  in  empty  professions  and 
unmeaning  declarations  ;  and  are  we  to  put  up  tamely  with 
one  of  the  greatest  insults  that  ever  was  inflicted  upon  the 
Government  of  the  country  ?  Was  it  for  this  that  we 
conciliated  the  Autocrat  of  the  North  on  the  Belgian  ques- 
tion ?  And  is  all  the  return  of  our  concessions  a  bold  and 
naked  defiance  of  our  power,  and  a  determination  to  con- 
vince the  world  that  the  days  of  British  influence  are  pass- 
ed forever  ?  Perhaps  we  shall  be  told,  even  now,  of  the 
magnanimous  intentions  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia ;  but  the 
cheat  is  too  stale.  Every  body  knows  not  only  that  we 
have  truckled  to  Russia  in  vain,  but  that  to  deception  she 
has  added  insult,  and  that  at  this  moment  there  is  a  Russian 
Ambassador  in  town,  with  instructions  to  cajole  the  Gov- 
ernment on  the  Belgian  question,  and  to  withhold  the  rati- 
fication of  the  treaty  until  after  the  passing  or  rejecting  of 


424  APPENDIX. 

the  Reform  Bill,  when  the  Emperor  may  be  enabled  by  a 
change  of  government  to  dispense  with  it  altogether.  —  But 
we  are  tired  of  the  subject ;  the  more  we  look  at  it,  the 
more  we  feel  disgraced.  We  blame  not  this  or  that  minis- 
ter ;  for  the  intentions  of  the  government  towards  Poland, 
we  firmly  believe,  were  kind  in  the  extreme  ;  but  we  blush 
for  the  country  at  large  in  having  purchased  the  chance  of 
peace  at  the  sacrifice  of  honor.' 


No.  V. 

The  following  is  the  Imperial  Manifesto  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  article,  as  it  appears  in  the  Berlin  State  Gazette, 
under  the  head  of  Warsaw,  March  ^5th,  1832. 

'By  the  grace  of  God,  Nicholas  I,  Emperor  of  Russia, 
King  of  Poland,  etc.  When,  by  our  Manifesto  of  Jan.  2, 
last  year,  we  announced  to  our  faithful  subjects  the  march 
of  our  troops  into  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  which  was  mo- 
mentarily snatched  from  the  lawful  authority,  we  at  the 
same  time  informed  them  of  our  intention  to  fix  the  future 
fate  of  this  country  on  a  durable  basis,  suited  to  its  wants, 
and  calculated  to  promote  the  welfare  of  our  whole  empire. 
Now  that  an  end  has  been  put  by  force  of  arms  to  the  re- 
bellion in  Poland,  and  that  the  nation,  led  away  by  agita- 
tors, has  returned  to  its  duty,  and  is  restored  to  tranquillity, 
we  deem  it  right  to  carry  into  execution  our  plan  with  re- 
gard to  the  introduction  of  the  new  order  of  things,  where- 
by the  tranquillity  and  union  of  the  two  nations,  which 
Providence  has  entrusted  to  our  care,  may  be  forever  guard- 
ed against  new  attempts.  Poland,  conquered  in  the  year 
1815  by  the  victorious  arms  of  Russia,  obtained  by  the 
magnanimity  of  our  illustrious  predecessor,  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  not  only  its  national  existence,  but  also  special 
laws  sanctioned  by  a  Constitutional  Charter.  These  favors, 
however,  would  not  satisfy  the  eternal  enemies  of  order  and 
lawful  power.  Obstinately  persevering  in  their  culpable 
projects,  they  ceased  not  one  moment  to  dream  of  a  separa- 
tion between  the  two  nations  subject  to  our  sceptre,  and  in 
their  presumption  they  dared  to  abuse  the  favors  of  the  re- 
storer of  their  country,  by  employing  for  the  destruction  of 
his  noble  work  the  very  laws  and  liberties  which  his  mighty 
arm  had  generously  granted  them.  Bloodshed  was  the  con- 
sequence of  this  crime.  The  tranquillity  and  happiness  which 


APPENDIX.  425 

the  kingdom  of  Poland  had  enjoyed  to  a  degree  till  then  un- 
known, vanished  in  the  midst  of  civil  war  and  a  general  de- 
vastation. All  these  evils  are  noV  passed.  The  kingdom  of 
Poland,  again  subject  to  our  sceptre,  will  regain  tranquilUty, 
and  again  flourish  in  the  bosom  of  peace,  restored  to  it  under 
the  auspices  of  a  vigilant  government.  Hence  we  consider 
it  one  of  our  most  sacred  duties  to  watch  with  paternal  care 
over  the  welfare  of  our  faithful  subjects,  and  to  use  every 
means  in  our  power  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  similar 
catastrophes,  by  taking  from  the  ill-disposed  the  power  of 
disturbing  public  tranquillity.  As  it  is,  moreover,  our  wish 
to  secure  to  the  inhabitants  of  Poland  the  continuance  of  all 
the  essential  requisites  for  the  happiness  of  individuals,  and 
of  the  country  in  general,  namely,  security  of  persons  and 
property,  liberty  of  conscience,  and  all  the  laws  and  privi- 
leges of  towns  and  communes,  so  that  the  kingdom  of  Poland, 
with  a  separate  administration  adapted  to  its  wants,  may  not 
cease  to  form  an  integral  part  of  our  empire,  and  that  the 
inhabitants  of  this  country  may  henceforward  constitute  a 
nation  united  with  the  Russians  by  sympathy  and  fraternal 
sentiments,  we  have,  according  to  these  principles,  ordained 
and  resolved  this  day,  by  a  new  organic  statute,  to  introduce 
a  new  form  and  order  in  the  administration  of  our  kingdom 
of  Poland. 

'  St  Petersburgh,  February  26,  1832. 

♦  NICHOLAS. 

*  The  Secretary  of  State,  Count  Stephen  Grabowski.' 

After  this  Manifesto,  the  organic  statutes  of  Poland  are 
given,  the  principal  of  which  are  as  follows : 

*  By  the  grace  of  God,  we,  Nicholas  I,  Emperor  and  Au- 
tocrat of  all  the  Russias,  King  of  Poland,  &-c,  &c. 

*  In  our  constant  solicitude  for  the  happiness  of  the  nations 
which  Providence  has  confided  to  our  government,  we  are 
occupied  in  fixing  the  basis  for  the  future  organization  of  the 
kingdom  of  Poland,  having  regard  to  the  true  interests  and 
positions  of  the  country,  and  to  the  local  wants  and  manners 
of  the  inhabitants. 

*  GENERAL    DISPOSITIONS. 

'Art.  I.  The  kingdom  of  Poland  is  forever  to  be  re-united 
to  the  Russian  empire,  and  form  an  inseparable  part  of  that 
empire.     It  shall  have  a  particular  administration  conform- 


426  APPENDIX. 

ably  to  its  local  necessities,  as  well  as  a  civil  and  military 
code.  The  statutes  and  the  laws  of  cities  and  towns  remain 
in  full  vigor. 

'  Art.  2.  The  Crown  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland  is  hereditary 
in  our  person  and  in  our  heirs  and  successors,  agreeably  to 
the  order  of  succession  to  the  throne  prescribed  by  all  the 
Russias. 

«  Art.  3.  The  Coronation  of  the  Emperors  of  all  the  Rus- 
sias and  Kings  of  Poland  shall  be  one  and  the  same  ceremo- 
nial, which  shall  take  place  at  Moscow,  in  the  presence  of  a 
deputation  from  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  which  shall  assist 
at  that  solemnity  with  the  deputies  from  the  other  parts  of 
the  empire. 

'  Art.  4.  In  the  possible  event  of  a  regency  in  Russia,  the 
power  of  the  regent  or  regentess  of  the  empire  will  extend 
over  the  kingdom  of  Poland. 

'  Art.  5.  The  freedom  of  worship  is  guarantied  ;  every  one 
is  at  liberty  to  exercise  his  religion  openly,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Government ;  and  the  difference  of  Christian  faiths 
shall  never  prove  a  pretext  for  the  violation  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  which  are  allowed  to  all  the  inhabitants.  The  Ro- 
man Catholic  religion,  being  that  of  the  majority  of  our 
Polish  subjects,  shall  be  the  object  of  especial  protection  of 
the  Government. 

'  Art.  6.  The  funds  which  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  pos- 
sess, and  those  of  the  Greek  church  united,  shall  be  consid- 
ered as  the  common  and  inviolable  property  of  the  hierarchy 
of  each  of  those  creeds. 

*  Art.  7.  The  protection  of  the  laws  is  assured  to  all  the 
inhabitants  without  distinction  of  rank  or  class.  Each  shall 
be  empowered  to  assume  dignities  or  to  exercise  public  func- 
tions, according  to  his  personal  merits  or  talents. 

'  Art.  8.  Individual  liberty  is  guarantied  and  protected  by 
the  existing  laws.  No  one  shall  be  deprived  of  his  liberty, 
or  called  to  justice,  if  he  be  not  a  transgressor  of  the  law  in 
all  the  forms  prescribed.  Every  one  detained  shall  be  ap- 
prised of  the  motive  of  arrest. 

'  Art.  9.  Each  person  arrested  must  submit  to  a  delay  of 
three  days  to  be  heard  and  judged  of,  according  to  the  forms 
of  law,  before  competent  tribunals:  if  he  be  found  innocent, 
he  will  instantly  obtain  his  liberty.  He  will  be  equally  re- 
stored to  liberty  who  shall  furnish  a  sufficient  surety. 

'  Art.  10.  The  form  of  judicial  inquests  directed  against 
the  superior  functionaries  of  the  kingdom,  and  against  per- 
sons accused  of  high  treason,  shall  be  determined  by  a  par- 


APPENDIX.  427 

ticular  law,  the  foundation  of  which  shall  be  accordant  with 
the  other  laws  of  our  empire. 

*  Art.  11.  The  right  of  property  of  individuals,  and  of  cor- 
porations, is  declared  sacred  and  inviolable,  inasmuch  as  it 
will  be  conformable  to  the  existing  laws.  All  the  subjects  of 
the  kingdom  of  Poland  are  perfectly  free  to  quit  the  country, 
and  to  carry  away  their  goods,  provided  they  conform  to  the 
regulations  published  to  that  effect. 

*  Art.  12.  The  penalty  of  confiscation  shall  not  be  enforced 
but  against  state  crimes  of  the  first  class,  as  may  be  hereafter 
determined  by  particular  laws. 

'  Art.  13.  Publication  of  sentiments,  by  means  of  the  press, 
shall  be  subjected  to  restrictions  which  will  protect  religion, 
the  inviolabihty  of  superior  authority,  the  interests  of  morals, 
and  personal  considerations.  Particular  regulations,  to  this 
effect,  will  be  published  according  to  the  principles  which 
serve  as  a  basis  to  this  object  in  the  other  parts  of  our  empire. 

*  Art.  14.  The  kingdom  of  Poland  shall  proportionably 
contribute  to  the  general  expenditure  and  to  the  wants  of  the 
empire.     The  proportion  of  taxes  will  be  stated  hereafter. 

'  Art.  15.  All  contributions  and  all  taxes  which  existed  in 
November,  1830,  shall  be  levied  after  the  manner  formerly 
settled  till  the  new  fixing  of  taxes. 

*  Art.  16.  The  treasury  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  and  all 
the  other  branches  of  the  administration,  shall  be  separated 
from  the  administration  of  the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

*Art.  17.  The  pubhcdebt  of  Poland,  acknowledged  by  us, 
shall  be  guarantied  as  formerly,  by  the  government,  and  in- 
demnified by  the  receipts  of  the  kingdom. 

*  Art.  18.  The  bank  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  and  the 
laws  respecting  credit,  shall  continue  under  the  protection  of 
Government. 

'  Art.  19.  The  mode  of  commercial  transactions  between 
the  Russian  empire  and  the  kingdom  of  Poland  shall  be 
regulated  according  to  the  respective  interests  of  the  two 
countries. 

*  Art.  20.  Our  army  in  the  empire  and  in  the  kingdom 
shall  compose  one  in  common,  without  distinction  of  Russian 
or  Polish  troops.  We  shall  reserve  to  ourselves  a  future 
decision  of  this,  by  an  especial  law,  by  what  arrangement, 
and  upon  what  basis,  the  kingdom  of  Poland  shall  partici- 
pate with  our  army.  The  number  of  troops  which  shall 
serve  as  the  military  defence  of  the  kingdom  will  be  also 
ultimately  determined  upon  by  a  law. 

*  Art.  21.  Those  of  our  subjects  of  the  empire  of  Russia, 
who  are  established  in  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  who  possess 


'Wi 


428  APPENDIX. 

or  shall  possess,  real  property  in  that  country,  shall  enjoy  all 
the  rights  of  natives.  It  shall  be  the  same  with  those  of  our 
subjects  of  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  who  shall  establish  them- 
selves, and  shall  possess  property,  in  the  other  provinces  of 
the  empire.  We  reserve  to  ourselves  to  grant  hereafter  let- 
ters of  naturalization  to  other  persons,  as  well  to  strangers 
as  to  Russians,  who  are  not  yet  established  there.  Those 
of  our  subjects  of  the  Russian  empire  who  may  reside 
for  a  certain  time  in  Poland,  and  those  of  our  subjects 
of  the  kingdom  of  Poland  who  may  sojourn  in  the  other  parts 
of  the  empire,  are  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  country  where 
they  reside. 

*  Art.  22.  The  superior  administration  of  the  kingdom  of 
Poland  is  confided  to  a  council  of  administration,  which  shall 
govern  the  kingdom  in  our  name,  under  the  presidency  of 
the  governor  of  the  kingdom. 

*  Art.  23.  The  council  of  administration  is  composed  of 
the  governor  of  the  kingdom,  of  superior  directors,  who 
superintend  the  commissions,  and  among  whom  are  divided 
the  interests  of  the  administration,  of  comptroller,  presiding 
over  the  supreme  Chamber  of  Finance,  and  of  other  mem- 
bers, whom  we  shall  appoint  by  special  orders.' 


# 


LIST    OF    POLISH    NAMES, 

With  their  Pronunciation  in  English. 


POLISH    ALPHABET. 

abcdefghijklmnopq 

all    bey  tsey   dey    ey    ef  ghey  hah   ye   ee   kah   el     em      en      o     pey  koo 

rstuwxyz. 

err      es    tey    oo       voo      ix       ee      zed. 

JVote.     In  every  Polish  name,  or  word,  the  letters  are  all  sounded  and  pro- 
nounced, as  their  names  indicate. 


Names  as  spelled  in      Their  pronunciation. 
Polish. 

A 


Adamski 

Augustow 

Alexota 


Bestuzew 

Boleslaw-Chrobry 

Biala-Cerkiew 

Bilinski 

Biernacki 

Bialystok 

Brzesc 

Boimie 

Boguslawski 

Bialolenka 

Bug 

Bielak 

Berowski 

Blendowsky 

Bystrzyca 

Berzykowski 

Beysogola 

Bialowiez 

Belzyca 

Borowa 

Beresteczko 

Bady 

Brainsk 

Bielsk 

Bukowski 


Ahdarasky 
Owgoostov 
Ahlexotah 


Bestoozhev 
Boleslav-Khrobry 
Beahlah-Tseyrkyev 
Belinsky 
Byernatsky 
Beahlistok 
Brzhests 
Boimea 


'Ky 

Beahlolenkah 
Boog 
Bieylak 


Blendovsky 

Bistrzhitsa 

Berzhyhkovsky 

Beysogolah 

Beahlovyezh 

Belzheetsah 

Borovah 

Beyrestechko 

Bahdy 

Brainsk 

Byelsk 

Bookovsky 

64 


Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 

Bialobrzegi 

Bocki 

Blonie 


ChFopicki 

Chodkiewicz 

Czarnecki 

Czartoryski 

Cieclianowiec 

Czyzewski 

Czaykowski 

Czarna-morskie 

Chlapowski 

Ceglow 

Chrzanowski 

Czyzew 

Czaykiszki 

Czenstochowa 

Cytowiany 

Czarna 

Ciechanow 

Chodzko 


Dembek 

Downarowicz 

Dombrowski 

Diebitsch 

Dwernicki 


Their  pronunciation. 

Byahlobrzheygy 

Botsky 

Blony 


Khlopitsky 

Khodkyavitch 

Tcharnetsky 

Tchartorisky 

Tsyakhanovyets 

Tcheejevski 

Tshahovski 

Tcharna-morskyey 

Khlaposvky 

Tseyglov 

Khrzhahnovsky 

Tchee?je\r 

Tchaikishki 

Tchenstokhovah 

Tsetoviahny 

Tcharnah 

Tsyeykhhanov 

Khodzko 

D 

Dembek 

Dovnarovich 

Dombrovsky 

Deebich 

Dvernitsky 


430        Polish  Names,  with  their  Pronunciation. 


Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 

Dobre 

Dembe-Wielkie 

Dnieper 

Dembinski 

Dawgieliszki 

Dubno 

Dlugie-Siodlo 

Dobzyn 


Grabowski 

Grodno 

Grochow 

Granica 

Goclaw 

Gotembiewski 

Gielgud 

Grombkow 

Gruszki 

Galiczyn 

Graiewo 

Gielgudyszki 

Gury-Konarskie 

Gorzdy 

Giedroyc 


Hauke 

Hildebrand 

Hurtig 


Jablonowski 

Jgelstrom 

Jurgaszko 

Jezierski 

Jadow 

Jablonna 

Jakubow 

Januwek 

Jankowski 

Jendrzeiow 

Jarburg 

Jagiellow 

Jedlina 

Janow 

Jeroraa 


Kosciuszko 

Krzyzanowski 

Kichelbeker 

Kachovvski 

Krasinski 

Kornatowski 

Kozienice 

Krukowiecki 

Keck 


Their  pronunciation. 

Dobrey 

Deinbey-Vielkye 

Dneeper 

Dembinsky 

Davgalishky 

Doobno 

Dloogya-Syodlo 

Dobzhin. 


Grahbovsky 

Grodno 

Grokhov 

Grahnitsah 

Gotslav 

Golembyevsky 

Gyelgood 

Grombkov 

Grooshky 

Gahlichyn 

Grahyeyvo 

Gyelgoodishky 

Goory-Konarskya 

Gorsdy 

Gye  droits 

H 

Houka 

Hildeybrand 

Hoortig 


Yablonovsky 

Eegelstrom 

Yoorgashko 

Yazhyersky 

Yahdov 

Yablonnah 

Yahkoobov 

Yahnoovek 

Yankovsky 

Yendrzhagov 

Yarboorg 

Yahgyellov 

Yedlenah 

Yahnov 

Yaroraa 

K 

Kostchioushko. 

Krzhezhanovsky 

Keekhelbaker 

Kakhovsky 

Krahsinsky 

Kornahtovsky 

Kozhyanetsey 

Krookovyetsky 

Kotsk 


Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 

Kaluszyn 

Kostrzyn 

Konik 

Kavvenczyn 

Kicki 

Krasnystaw 

Kozieradzki 

Karczew 

Karow 

Konskawola 

Keydany 

Kowno 

Kazimierz 

Kolodno 

Krzemieniec 

Knielce 

Kuflew 

Kolacze 

Kamionka 

Kleczkowo 

Kaminski 

Koss 

Kalwaryia 

Karvvowska 

Kurzany 

Kikiernicki 

Kniaziewicz 


Lubowidzki 

Lazienki 

Lelewel 

Lubecki 

Lubinski 

Lowicz 

Lubomirska 

Lenczna 

Lukow 

Lublin 

Liwiec 

Leduchowski 

Lagowski 

Lewandowski 

Latowicz 

Lipawa 

Lukowiec 

Lomza 

Lubartow 

Lubania 

Lipinska 

Lida 

Lysobyki 

Laskarzew 

Laga 

Luberacz 


Murawiew 


Their  pronunciation. 

Kahlooshyn 

Kostrzhyn 

Konyik 

Kahvenchyn 

Keetsky 

Krasneestav 

Kozhyaradzky 

Karchev 

Koorov 

Konskahvolah 

Kaydahny 

Kovno 

Kahzheemyerzh 

Kolodno 

Krzheymyeynyets 

Knyeltsa 

Kooflev 

Kolachey 

Kahmyonkah 

Klechkovo 

Kaminsky 

Koss 

Kalvahreya 

Kavovskah 

Koorzhahny 

Kekyornitsky 

Knyahzyavich 


Looboveedzky 

Lahzhyenky 

Leyleyvel 

Loobetsky 

Loobinsky 

Lovich 

Loobomeerskah 

Lenchnah 

Lookov 

Looblin 

Levyets 

Leydookhovsky 

Lahgovsky 

Leyvandovsky 

Lahtovich 

Lepahvah 

Lookovyets 

Lomzah 

Loobartov 

Loobahnyah 

Lepinskah 

Ledah 

Lysobyky 

Laskarzhev 

Lahgah 

Loobeyrach 

M 
Mooravyev 


Polish  Names,  with  their  Pronunciation, 


431 


Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 

Their  pronunciation. 

Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 

Their  pronunciation. 

Mieciszewski 

Myatsishevsky 

Pac 

Pats 

Mokotow 

Mokotov 

Pultusk 

Pooltoosk 

Miendzyrzyc 

Myenjeerzhyts 

Parczewo          • 

Parchavo 

Makowiec 

Mahkovyets 

Praga 

Piahgah 

Minsk 

Minsk 

Pientka 

Pyentkah 

Macieiowice 

Matsyaovcetsa 

Paszkiewicz 

Pashkyavich 

Mingosy 

Mingosy 

Pulawy 

Poolahoy 

Milosna 

Melosna 

Polonga 

Polongah 

Makow 

Mahkov 

Prondzynski 

Proodzynsky 

Malachowski 

Mahlahkhovsky 

Piast 

Pyast 

Maslowski 

Maslovsky 

Plomieniec 

Plomyanyets 

Markuszew 

Markushev 

Proskirow 

Proskerov 

Magnuszewo 

Magnooshavo 

Piaski 

Pyasky 

Memel 

Marael 

Poznan 

Pornan 

Mycielski 

Meetsyelsky 

Piasynsz 

Prasnysh 

Modlin 

Modlin 

Plater 

Plahter 

Milatyn 

Meelahtyn 

Podbrzeze 

Podbrzhazha 

Mordy 

Mordy 

Piwecki 

Pevetsky 

Modzele 

Modzala 

Pawenduny 

Pahvendoony 

Mniszew 

Mneshev 

Piaseczno 

Pyasechno 

Menzynin 

Menzhenin 

Malinowski 

Mahlenovsky 

R 

Mlawa 

Mlahvah 

Rozniecki 

Rozhnyetsky 

Matusiewicz 

Mahtoosyavich 

Releiew 

Reyleyiev 

Myszogola 

Meshogolah 
Mekhahlovsky 

Rukiewicz 

Rookyavich 

Michalowski 

Ruda 

Roodah 

Maluszyn 

Mahlooshyn 

Ryczywol 

Reecheevol 

Morawski 

Moravsky 

Radom 

Rahdom 

Radomierza 

Rahdomyerzhah 

N 

Radzimin 

Rahjeenun 

Niemcewizc 

Nyemtseyvich 

Rybinski 

Reebinsky 

Nasielsk 

Nahsyelsk 
Nahrev 

Rozany 

Rozhahny 

Narew 

Rosseyny 

Rosseyny 

Nowa-wies 

Novah-vies 

Radziwil 

Rahjecvel 

Nowy-dwor 

Novy-dvor 

Radziwilow 

Rahjeevelov 

Niewiaza 

Nyavyahzhah 
Nahrevkah 

Raygrod 

Raigrod 

Narewska 

Rumszyski 

Roomshysky 

Nurzec 

Noorzhets 

Rewdany 

Revdahny 

Neydenburg 
Nowe-miasto 
Nadarzyn 

Nidenboorg 

Nova-myasto 

Nahdarzhyn 

o 

Rasinowicz 
Retow 
Racioncz 
Ruzycki 

Rahsenovich 
Retov 
Rahtsyonzh 
Roozhytsky 

Ostrowski 
Ostrolenka 
Orsyca 
Okuniew 

Ostrovsky 
Ostrolenkah 
Orseetsah 
Okoonyev 

Sokolnicki 
Soltyk 
Szlegel 
Suwarow 

S 

Sokolnitsky 
Soltyk 
Shleygel 
Soovahrov 

Osmiany 

Osmyahny 

Sobieski 

Sobyesky 

Sahpyahah 

Shoolets 

Syamyontkovsky 

Skrzhynetsky 

Ostrog 

Orla 

Oyrany 

dstrog 

Orlah 

Oyrahny 

Sapieha 

Szulec 

Siemiontkowski 

P 

Skrzynecki 

Szembek 

Shembek 

Plichta 

Plikhtah 

Sierawski 

Syeyravsky 

Pestel 

Pestel 

Siedlce 

Syedltsa 

Potocki 

Pototsky 

Serock 

Seyrotsk 

Poniatowski 

Ponyahtovsky 

Stryinski 

Stryinsky  ' 

Powonzki 

Povonsky 

Seroczyn 

Serochyn 

432       Polish  Names,  with  their  Pronunciation, 


Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 

Sokolow 

Stoczek 

Swider 

Stanislawow 

Swierza 

Szachowski 

Skarzynski 

Siekierki 

Sznayder 

Szuszerin 

Siennica 

Szymanski 

Szawla 

Swienciany 

Szerwinty 

Sucha 

Styr 

Stary-Konstantynow 

Starygrod 

Stoiadly 

Strzebucza 

Suraz 

Sierakowski 

Szymanowski 

Szczuczyn 

Suwalki 

Swieta 

Salacki 

Slupecki 

Sloboda 

Sonk 

Siemiatycze 

Tarnowski 

Trembicki 

Turno 

Targowek 

Troki 

Tarnopol 

Tarnogura 

Troszyn 

Tykocin 

Uminski 
Uscilug 
Uchania 


Their  pronunciation. 

Sokolov 

Stochek 

Svader 

Stahneslahvov 

Svyerzhah 

Shakhovsky 

Skarkhynsky 

Syakerky 

Shnider 

Shoosherin 

Syenneetsah 

Shy  mansky 

Shavlah 

Svyentsyahny 

Shervinty 

Sookhah 

Styr 

Stahry-Konstantenov 

Stahregrod 

Stoyadly 

Strzhaboocha 

Sooraz 

Syeyrahkovsky 

Shemahnovsky 

Shchoochyn 

Soovalky 

Svieytah 

Sahlatsky 

Sloopeytsky 

Slobodah 

Sonk 

Syamyahtecha 

T 

Tarnovsky 
Trembitski 
Toorno 
Targovek 
Troky 
Tarnopol 
Tarnogoorah 
Troshyn 
Tykotsin 
U 

Oominski 
Oostseloog 
Ookhanyah 


Names  as  spelled  in 
Polish. 


Wigielin 

Wielkaniee 

Wiliaminow 

Wyzechowski 

Wysocki 

Wengrzecki 

Wonsowicz 

Wolicki 

Wlodawa 

Wielezynski 

Wengrow 

Wawr 

Wkra 

Wilanow 

Wodynie 

Wieprz 

Wilno 

Wilkomierz 

Wereszczaki 

Wielkie 

Wyszkow 

Wroclaw 

Wiliia 

Worna 

Wierzbna 


Zamoyski 

Zymirski 

Zegrz 

Zlotoria 

Zelechow 

Ziemiecki 

Zombky 

Zagroby 

Zaluski 

Zoliborz 

Zimna-woda 

Zamosc 

Zambrowo 

Zeymy 

Zawadzka 

Zaliwski 

Zabiello 


Their  pronunciation. 

w 

Vegyalen 

Vyelkahneetsa 

Velyahmeenov 

Vezhakhovsky 

Vesotsky 

Vengrzhetsky 

Vonsovich 

Volitsky 

Vlodahvah 

Vealazhynsky 

Vengrov 

Vavr 

Vkrah 

Velahnov 

Vodenya 

Vyeyprzh 

Vilno 

Vilkomyerzh 

Vareshchahky 

Vyelkya 

Vyshkov 

Vrotslav 

Veleyah 

Vornah 

Vyerzhbnah 


Zahmoisky 

Zymeersky 

Zeygrzh 

Zlotoryah 

Zheyleykhov 

Zyeymyeytsky 

Zombky 

Zahgroby 

Zahloosky 

Zoleborzh 

Zimna-vodah 

Zahmosts 

Zambrovo 

Zaymy 

Zahvadzkah 

Zahlivsky 

Zabyello 


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